An Elven Warden
by ffdrake
Summary: Follow the path a Dalish Elf as he leaves behind the only world he knew, and became a hero of the ages. Meeting many people and learning the meaning of honor, love, and sacrifice.Rated for violence, sexual-themes, cursing, blood/gore. Please Read/Review.
1. Origin Part 1

**Okay here we go. This story is as close as I can get it to the actual game. I have tried to add in a little more every now and then to spice up the story. For the record, the Dalish Elves are my favorite race in the game. I have played this story line through, and I have beaten the game a couple of times, I know I have no life, but with this I have put together what I think is one of the better story lines possible.**

**MAJOR SPOILER ALERT:**** I will be telling this game through, start to finish. But only the main story quest and the companion quests.**

**Your reviews are extremely encouraged, both good and bad, but the only thing I ask is that you are respectful. NO FLAMES. I am not a professional writer; this is just something that I do for fun. So please enjoy.**

**Chapter 1**

Drake Mahariel was sitting in the woods watching the birds fly above. The life of the Dalish often allowed, and even encouraged, the elves to sit and watch the world around them. It was thought that by watching their surroundings, they could see all the beauty and order of the world. But today the birds were flying in a strange manner and this had caught Drakes attention. Instead of flying back to their nest, or searching for food for their young, they were circulating around an area. Almost as if they were afraid to enter the area they were circling.

Kneeling down next to the small stream he was near, Drake cupped his hands in the water and brought some up to his mouth. He and his friend, Tamlen, had gone out hunting early in the morning. As sometimes happened though, the two hunters turned their focus onto the tracks of shems that were very close to their clans camp. Too close for comfort. This caused them to start hunting the shems, instead of hunting for game.

Looking down at the water he looked at his reflection. Admiring the tattoo's that now covered his face. The tattoo's where the marks that all the Dalish received once they had succeeded in their hunt. They looked like branches that reached from his ears up his forehead and beneath his eyes, with another separate part going down the length of his noise. Unfortunately, the tattoos did not match the color of his hair, which was usually the tradition. But for him, his tattoo's did not match the color of his hair, for it was almost impossible to make tattoo's white.

The other clan members had told him that his father had the same color of hair. It was perhaps the only memento that he had of his parents. After having his fill he picked up his bow, readjusted his dagger and sword and went to find Tamlen.

Coming over a small hill he saw his childhood friend Tamlen, walking with his bow drawn pointing it at three humans. Drawing his bow he started down the hill towards his friend. _Oh Elgar'nan, _Drake cursed, _what has he gotten himself into this time?_

Notching an arrow he walked up next to Tamlen. "You're just in time," Tamlen said, "I found these…humans lurking in the bushes. Bandits no doubt. What do you say, lethallin? What should we do with them?"

Drake thought for a moment. "Let's find out what they are doing here first."

Tamlen sighed. "Does it matter? Hunting or banditry, we'll need to move camp if we let them live."

One of the humans stepped forward. "Listen, we're sorry…we had no idea that this forest belong to you."

Tamlen grunted. "Foolish shem, we do not own this forest. You have simply traveled too close to our camp."

The human shrunk back and started to stutter more. "L-look… we didn't come here to be trouble. We just found a cave-"

"We know this forest," Drake cut in, "there are caves, but no ruins. You lie."

"I… I have proof! Here… we found this just inside the entrance."

The human handed over the small tablet to Tamlen who immediately began to look it over. "Is this elvish? What else did you find in the cave."

"Nothing, we did not go far into the cave."

"Why not," Drake questioned, not letting up at all on his string.

The human began to break out into a sweat. "There was a demon! It was huge, with black eyes! Thank the Maker we were able to out-run it!"

"Where is this cave of yours?" Tamlen asked the humans.

"Just back that way. I swear it!"

"What do you think lethallin? What should we do with these shems?"

Drake thought for a moment and began to let up on the string of his bow. "You've frighten them enough. They won't bother us. Provided of course that they do not go near our camp."

Tamlen let out a frustrated sigh and eased his bow string. "Run along then, shems… and don't come back until we Dalish have moved on."

The humans did not have to be told twice. Muttering their thanks for getting away with their lives the three humans ran from the two Dalish hunters. Once they were out of sight Tamlen turned back to Drake. "Well, shall we see if there's any truth to their story? These carvings make me curious."

Drake placed his bow away and readjusted the strap that held onto his long sword and dagger. He had a bad feeling about this. "Shouldn't we inform the keeper first?"

"She might be interested in these carvings, but let's see if there's anything more before we get excited. Besides," Tamlen said already walking down the path that the humans pointed them too, "we're already here. Now let's go."

Drake nodded and followed his friend down the forest path. This was quite a beautiful place that the clan had decided to rest at. Within the woods there were a couple of small waterfalls and small streams. This provided good water sources for the halla and the clan. His hunter trained ears picked up on a low growl on the path in front of them. Turning to Tamlen he motioned for the two hunters to dropped down into a low crouch. Walking forward carefully they saw what had made the noise. On the path in front of them they saw two wolves feasting on a halla.

Tamlen notched and arrow and let in fly in a blink of an eye hitting one of the wolves in the neck. Drake drew his sword and dagger and charged forward. The remaining wolf caught sight of them and ran towards them. At the last second the wolf jumped. Acting on reflex he raised his sword and thrust it through the wolves gut. In a blink both wolves were dead.

Walking forward Drake and Tamlen knelt by the fallen halla. "Another one returns to the earth," Drake muttered under his breath.

"This is not one from out clan," Tamlen noted looking it over, "too bad, this was a great halla."

Drake nodded his approval. "Come Tamlen," he muttered standing up, "we will bury it on our way back. Let's see this cave to satisfy your curiosity."

For the next half an hour the two walked through the forest without any sign of trouble. Finally the two came in front a large cave in the side of a hill. "This must be the cave that the shem were talking about. I don't recall seeing this before, do you?"

Drake shook his head. How was this possible? The Dalish always searched every inch of forest whenever they settled into a new area. "No, and that worries me. We have searched this entire area and never seen anything like this before. We should be wary."

Tamlen chuckled. "Always the careful one. Fine, but I'm not running back until I know there's something worth making a fuss over. Come on, let's at least see what's there. How dangerous could it be?"

If nothing else that one sentence made Drakes blood freeze. How often had something bad happened after Tamlen had said that? _Elgar'nan help us._

The two hunters proceeded with care as they entered the cave. Looking around the architecture definitely suggested human origin, but there was a slight elvish style to the workings. Of course Drake should have listened to his feelings. They were no more than five paces into the cave when a loud hiss made both of them look up.

Drake jumped out of the way just in time to see two extremely large spiders fall from the ceiling. Not wasting time he drew his sword and dagger and prepared to defend himself. Tamlen drew on an arrow and hit the back spider in one of its eyes. Drake slashed at the remaining spider slicing its head in half, spraying Drake with its blood.

"Holy Ghilan'nain," Tamlen said, "you see the size of these things. How do spiders become so large?"

"No time to worry now lethallin," Drake said keeping out his sword but putting his dagger back, "let's see if there is anything interesting then get out of here. I do not like the feel of this place."

Elves had always been more susceptible to the presence of evil than humans. And this place absolutely reeked of evil.

As the two walked through the ruins they found several more spiders and some cocoons, but nothing really note worthy. As they were stepping into one room however, Drake stopped Tamlen before he could take another step. "What is the matter lethallin?" Tamlen asked?

Without saying anything Drake bent down and examined the floor just beneath his friend's foot. It was definitely a trap trigger. Tamlen by now knew what he was doing and held still as much as possible. Working quickly, Drake disarmed the trap.

Tamlen let out a sigh of relief. "Whoa, remind me to thank Paivel when we get back for teaching you how to set and disarm traps."

Walking with more care now, the two set off deeper into the ruins. Coming around a turn they walked down a long hallway, but Tamlen pulled Drake to a stop in front of a strange statue. "I can't believe this. You recognize this statue, don't you?"

Drake looked over the statue carefully. The statue did indeed look familiar. "It's worn, but it looks vaguely familiar…"

Tamlen did not give him a chance to finish hi thought. "Back when our people lived in Arlathan, statues like these honored the Creators. When the shems enslaved us, much of that lore was lost. This statue, it looks like human architecture… but the statue is definitely one of our people. Can these ruins date back to the time of Arlathan?"

Drake shrugged. Truthfully, the history of his people always fascinated him, but right now the feeling of evil was almost too strong to stand. The statue was beautiful in a frightening way. It had the slim shape of a person, but on its back there were wings like a bat, and over the top half of its face there was a helmet that covered it's eyes. "It's interesting. So much of our past is lost to us."

Tamlen shook his head. "I would never have guessed ancient elves might have lived here! With humans of all things."

Drake voiced his agreement and turned to the path directly in front of the statue leading off the hallway they were on. "Come on Tamlen, let's go a little further and then get out of here."

However when he placed one foot down he heard a familiar clicking sound. _By Fan'Harel, I set off a trap._ "Tamlen get back," Drake yelled just as poison gas filled the hallway.

The hunters had another surprise waiting for them as soon as they turned around though; one of the skeletons had gotten up and was charging at them. Hearing a clink behind them Drake turned to see another skeleton standing and charging at them. Raising his sword he blocked the larger sword, dropping him down to his knee. "Forget the bow Tamlen," Drake said still holding the sword up. "Draw your dagger."

For the next five minutes the two hunters fought against the undead. After several slices the two skeletons finally fell and did not get back up. _What is with this place? Is Fan'Harel here?_

He turned to Tamlen and saw him slightly shaking. "This place makes me nervous."

"What do you think this all is?"

"I'm not sure," Tamlen said, "This looks like a very old humand place. Why did they build this? And why would elven artifacts be here. Maybe some of our ancestors lived here, in caves like the dwarves. Personally I think I would stick to the roaming the land."

Drake scratched the back of his neck. "Do you think the keeper will want to come here?"

"She takes any opportunity to gather elven lore. When the clans come together, they exchange whatever they've found. She shouldn't come without hunters to guard her, though. The air here feels so… sinister. Well whatever it is, it… won't stop me. A Dalish hunter fears nothing!"

Walking back to the statue Drake paused. "How did you know all that about the statue?"

Tamlen crooked his head to the side. "I saw a picture of it in one of those old books the keeper never lets anyone touch. It was one of the old gods. The keeper called him a 'friend of the dead'."

"'Friend of the dead?' What does that mean?" Drake asked.

"He was a guide who took people across the spirit land to their final resting place in the Beyond. But he wasn't an evil god, not like Fan'Harel, the Great Wolf. It doesn't seem right that a place so…wrong…would be his."

Drake looked back at the fallen skeletons. "How could walking corpses be here?"

Tamlen looked back at the skeletons. "Hahren Paivel once said that in places where many people died, it can become setheneran, a land of walking dreams. The Veil becomes weak and spirits slip into our world. Then they possess corpses and walk around."

Drake thought back to the humans that they came across. "Maybe this is the 'demon' the humans saw."

"It's hard to imagine anything else could live here with these…creatures. Still, worse things may be ahead. This place reeks of something…wrong. Can you feel it?"

Drake nodded his consent. This place was started to reek of evil. Tamlen headed down the hallway. "Let's press on…I want to know how out people were involved with this."

Drake came up next to him. "You said something about a veil? What is that?"

"I'm no storyteller. All I remember of the Hahren's tales is that a veil separates our world from the spirit world. He said that spirits are jealous of us and always try to steal out souls. They want to be like us so badly they'll even possess our dead, which drives them insane. But for them to enter our world, the Veil must be weak. Is that why this place feels so strange?"

"If they show themselves," Drake said finding courage, "we'll kill them too."

"I doubt it would be that easy." Tamlen reasoned. "More likely, we'd get possessed too."

"Very well, let's keep going."

Tamlen waved his hand in front of him. "Lead on, lethallin."

Drake entered the door, and was greeted by the ugliest thing he had ever seen. It looked like a bear, but there was no fur on it. Also there were spikes of, something coming out of its skin. And all the skin was a dark red in color. As soon as the beast saw them it charged at the two hunters.

Their shock wore off quickly as the beast charged, and both hunters jumped away from each other, Drake drawing his sword and Tamlen his bow. Tamlen planted an arrow it its side, and while it was distracted Drake ran up and slashed the creature across its side. The beast decided that Drake was the bigger threat and concentrated on him. Charging, the beast jumped and pinned Drake against the ground. The elf lifted his sword and used it to push against the creature hoping to keep it's long claw's away from him.

Tamlen used this chance to run up, and jump of the creature's lower back. With Tamlen's weight on its back, the creature lifted its claw's away from Drake and reached for Tamlen. But Tamlen already had an arrow notched, and he let it loose, point blank, into the back of the creature's neck.

The creature leaned back on its back legs and hollowed out a cry. Paws reaching back desperately to get the arrow out. Drake saw his chance and acted in the blink of an eye. Using his sword he slashed across the creature's chest, then slammed his sword up to the hilt into the creatures lower chest beneath its ribs. Drake prayed that it's heart was in the general area of his sword.

Sure enough, Drake's aim was true. And the beast fell onto its back. Dead.

Both of the hunters were bent over panting, trying to catch their breaths. The fight was not draining, but just the sight and presence of the monster was enough to leave them breathless.

"What, what was that thing?" Tamlen panted out.

Drake, panting himself, wiped the blood off of his blades. He would have to wash the blood off of himself on their way back. The keeper would through a fit if she saw all the blood he was covered in. Turning with Tamlen they both looked at the statue that was in the center of the room.

It was all white, and it had steps leading up to a tall mirror that was in the center of the statue. On either side of the mirror there was a statue of a human woman in a following dress that was holding up either side of the mirror. There was writing all over the bottom portion of the statue. Tamlen stepped close to it. "It's beautiful, isn't it? I wonder what the writing says."

The feeling of unease rose in Drake. "Do not touch the glass lethallin."

Tamlen scoffed. "Not that we'd leave a fingerprint on it…see how clean it is? Not a single smudge or crack. I wonder what this writing is for. Maybe this isn't---hey, did you see that?"

Drake looked up at the mirror, and saw what almost looked like a ripple spread across the mirrors surface. "Get away from it, Tamlen…" Drake said slowly backing up.

Tamlen however bent closer to the mirror. "Hold on, I just want to know what it is. Don't you see it? There it is again. Can you feel that? I think it knows we're here. I just need to take a close look…"

Drake tried to pull him back, but Tamlen touched the glass. "It is showing me something. A city, all black. Oh no, it has seen me. Help me Drake."

Drake tried to reach for his friend again. But a light shot out from the mirror and knocked him down onto the ground. The last thing he heard was the sound of Tamlen screaming.

* * *

Drake had no idea how long he had been laying in the ruins. A day, a year, time had lost all meaning. After the shock had hit him, his entire body felt as if it was drained of energy, her did not even have the strength to open his eyes.

Without warning he felt a pair of strong arms lift him up off the ground. He tried to open his eyes and see if it was Tamlen, but once again he had no strength to do so.

Eventually a bright light hit his eyes and he could tell that whoever it was had taken him outside of the ruins. He felt himself being lowered onto his back and finally Drake felt the strength to open his eyes. Looking up he saw a man standing over him. The man had a black beard and tan skin. His brown eyes showed his concern. The armor he wore was polished, but some blood was still sprayed across it.

"Hang on elf," he heard the man say, "we are almost back, you must hang on."

After that, everything went black for the elf again.

**Well there is chapter one. The next two chapters will encompass the completion of the origin story. Once again please Review, it helps me a lot because I talk your opinions into consideration when I am writing. Also for those of you curious, the name's you may no reconginze are Dalish Gods. I figure if they were going to use curse words, those would be it.  
**


	2. Origin Part 2

**Alright here we go with the next chapter. I hope that you all have enjoyed my first chapter of this story. We'll here we go, on with the story.**

**Chapter 2**

The first thought that came to Drake when he began to regain conscious was that he was lying against a wooden surface. Opening his eyes slowly he noticed that he was inside a wooden structure. Turning his head slightly he saw that he was in fact inside a one of the Dalish structures, and by the markings around the inside, it was his own clan that he was at.

Sitting up slowly he felt a rush to his head. Placing his hand on his head to steady himself he squeezed his eyes to fight back the pain. It felt as if an axe was slammed into the middle of his head. Looking down he noticed that he was only in his small clothes. Taking another look around, he saw that his cloths and armor were sitting next to the bed. _How did I get here?_ He wondered? _What was that mirror. Is Tamlen here with me?_

Too many questions and not enough answers were running through his head. It was time to find some answers to those questions. Dressing himself he buckled on his armor and headed out the cloth covered door.

Upon exiting the wagon, he saw one of his fellow hunters, Fenarel standing guard next to the exit. When Fenarel turned and saw him, the young hunter immediately rushed over to his side. "You're awake! You've got the gods' own luck lethallin."

Drake nodded to him, and felt his head rush again. Placing his hand on his head he leaned against the wagon to steady himself. Fenarel came up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Sensing his confusion, Fenarel immediately answered his unasked question. "You're back at camp. Everyone is worried about you. How do you feel?"

Drake had to fight the urge to tell him the truth. He felt terrible. Instead of saying that he was not feeling well he decided that he needed answers. "How did I get here, Fenarel?" He asked the hunter.

"A shem brought you back two days ago. You don't remember him?"

Two days. He was sleeping for the past two days? Then what about Tamlen? "I don't remember anything. I was in a cave, then…nothing."

Fenarel nodded his understanding. "The shem was a Grey Warden and he appeared out of nowhere with you slung over his shoulder. You were delirious with fever. He said that he found you outside a cave in the forest, unconscious and alone. He left you here and ran off again. The keeper's been using the old magic to heal you."

Drake nodded to the story. He remembered someone carrying him, but he could not remember anything outside of the cave. "I need to talk to the keeper right away Fenarel."

The hunter nodded. "She wanted to talk to you too. Stay here, I'll go get her."

Once Feneral had left Drake started to pace quite a bit. Fenarel had said nothing of Tamlen. What had happened to him? It did not take long and the keeper, Marethari, came up to him. She was an elder elf; her gray hair was almost as white as his. She had dark wrinkles on her face and the tattoos that she wore mixed in with her aged face very well.

As soon as the keeper came up to him she gave him a gentle hug then pulled away. "I see you are awake, da'len. It is fortunate Duncan found you when he did. I know not what dark power held you, but it nearly bled the life from you. It was difficult even for my magic to keep you alive."

Drake nodded his acceptance. "What happened to us Keeper?"

The keeper shook her head slowly, "I know only that the Grey Warden found you in front of a strange cave, sick and alone. The man, Duncan is his name; thought there may have been darkspawn creatures inside the cave. Is that true?"

Drake brought his hand up to his head again. Why would his head not stop pounding? He did not think that he hit his head all that hard when he fell back in the cave. "I'm not sure. What does a darkspawn look like?"

"Like a man, but dark and tainted with evil. Perhaps you fought one in the cave and it wounded you."

Drake thought again. No, the creature they fought looked more like a bear rather than a man, and it did not wound either him or Tamlen. "No, it was a mirror."

The keeper brought her hand up to her chin in thought. "A mirror? And it caused all this? I have never heard of such a thing in all the lore we have collected."

The keeper sighed before she continued, "I was hoping for answers when you woke, but there are only more questions."

She turned back to him and looked at him critically. "Do you feel well enough to show us the way, da'len? Without you we will not find this cave."

He nodded his approval. "I am up to it Keeper. I feel fine."

The Keeper gave a sigh of relief. "I am relieved to hear it. I am ordering the clan to pack the camp so we can go north. Take Merrill with you to the cave. Find Tamlen if you can, but do it swiftly."

"I understand Keeper," Drake said, "I will find Merrill and go to the cave to find Tamlen."

The Keeper waved him off. "Go quickly, for Tamlen's life hangs in the balance."

Drake made a slight bow to the Keeper and turned away from her. He did not exactly enjoy the thought of going with Merrill, but the Keeper would not know that. He and Merrill had begun walking together a couple of months ago, but lately things have not been going well. She kept spending less and less time with him, and more time studying. At first he thought nothing of it, but last week he asked her to go for a walk with him, and she flatly refused him.

He had never been so heart broken in his life. After that he left her alone, and he has not talked to her since. This could prove to be an interesting trip. First though he needed to talk to a couple of people first. Near a fire with several children standing next it, he saw Hahren Paivel.

Paivel had pretty much been his father figure for his entire life, and he was responsible for Drakes love of history. He walked up to the old man. "Hahren, it is good to see you again." Drake said in greeting.

The old elf turned to Drake. "So you have returned to us, da'len. We are grateful you are whole and well."

"I am glad to be here as well, Hahren." Drake said in return.

"So you should be!" Paivel snapped, "What were you two thinking, wandering into that cave without first coming to tell the Keeper?"

Drake lost his voice. There was no excuse. "We wanted to see if there was anything to tell, Hahren."

The old elf shook his head. "Once you saw what was inside you should have returned. But you kept exploring, didn't you?"

Drake lowered his head in shame and nodded.

"I suppose your youth can be forgiven," Paivel reasoned. "Sadly though, Tamlen pays the price."

Paivel came up to the hunter and placed his hand on his shoulder beckoning the young hunter to look up at him. "Losing you would be a terrible crime, da'len. You belong to more than just yourself. Or do you not remember that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Simple da'len, you are a very important member of this clan. Come now, let us tell these children of the fall of the Dals. You can honor me by sharing in the telling."

Drake nodded. He loved to tell stories to the children. "Certainly, Hahren."

Paivel waved his hand, "Come, then…help me as I go along."

Walking with the old elf he approached the younger children. Paivel immediately went into his story teller mode, and Drake picked up the story whenever he was needed. "Children," Paivel began, "hear of the fall of the Dales! Hear the tale of what makes you Dalish."

Paivel then turned to Drake, "would you care to begin, da'len?"

Drake nodded. "Long ago, we were slaves to the humans."

Paivel then jumped in. "Yes, slaves to a terrible empire the humans built on the darkest magic. When it fell, we became free. We built a homeland in the Dales, worshipping the Creators and rebuilding the culture and history we lost in our long years of slavery."

"But the humans would not let us be," Drake inserted.

"They were resentful: because we would not worship their gods, and because we put our people first. Over the years, their nations grew cold toward the Dales. In their eyes, we were blasphemers and cruel tyrants."

"Then the humans declared war on the Dales."

Paivel nodded and continued the story. "And so the Dales fell. They took out lands and dispersed out people, forcing us to live in their cities and abandon out gods. But many of us refused to relinquish our old ways. We instead chose to scatter to the winds, wandering the lands."

"We chose wandering the lands rather than the human rule," Drake continued.

"To survive and preserve our culture, the clans stay apart until the day the Elvhenan have a homeland once more."

"We shall return the old ways to those who have lost them."

Paivel nodded to the end of the story and began the Oath of the Dales. "'We are the Dalish: keepers of ht elost lore, walkers of the lonely path'."

Drake picked up the end of the saying. "'We are the last of the Elvhenan. Never again shall we submit."

With the telling complete, Paivel turned to Drake and placed his hand on the young hunters shoulder again. A slight smile on the old elf's face. "Thank you for your forbearance, da'len. You remember both the tale and the Oath of the Dales perfectly. Now go and find Tamlen quickly. May the gods guide your path da'len."

As Drake was leaving the fire side he was stopped by Fenarel. "Is the Keeper sending you back to that cave to look for Tamlen?"

"Yes," Drake said, "I'm going with Merrill."

"I want to go with you. Keeper Marethari probable won't approve, but I can help find Tamlen."

At first he wanted to turn him down. But the thought of the awkward silences that there were going to be between him and Merrill he decided against it. "All right, you can come with us Fenarel. But we should tell the Keeper that you are coming with us."

"Very well then Drake, thank you."

The two walked back to the Keepers wagon and saw her sitting outside. "I see you have not left with Merrill yet. Is there something you need?"

"Yes Keeper," Drake began, "I want to bring Fenarel with us to the cave."

The Keeper instantly got a curious look on her face. She turned to the younger of the two hunters. "Fenarel, are you certain? I'm already putting Merrill at risk; I do not want to lose you too."

Fenarel took his time before answering. "I want to help Keeper. If we can find Tamlen, it's worth the risk."

The Keeper poundered for a moment before she nodded her consent. "Very well, then. You have my permission. And thank you for asking for it."

The two young hunters bowed slightly to the keeper and moved away. "I cannot believe that you got her to say I could come along. How did you do that Drake?"

Drake shrugged. "I do not know. For some reason she usually allows me to do quite a bit, and all I have to do is ask."

"Well either way, let's go lethallin." Fenarel said starting towards the exit to the camp. But Drake saw one another person that he wanted to talk too.

"You go ahead Fenarel," Drake said, "I have a couple of other things that I need to do. Go wait by Merrill."

Fenarel could see where Drake was looking, and he quickly nodded his consent. "Well just hurry it up will you."

After the young hunter had taken off, Drake set off in the direction of the halla grazing area. More specially he was heading towards the elf tending the halla, Maren. Her long red hair covering her beautiful face. Once she saw him approach she stood and gave him a slight smile, although he could tell that she was trying to keep from crying. "Aneth ara," Maren said in greeting, "It's good to see you recovered."

Drake tried to think of anything to start a converstation. "How are the halla faring, Maren?"

She hesitated for a moment and turned towards the herd. "They fare well. The keeper called for the clan to move on, and they will be ready to take us. However one is heavy with calf, but it shouldn't be a problem."

She fought back another sniffle and faced him again. "May I ask of Tamlen's fate? Some say the clan will leave before we find him."

He knew that Tamlen and Maren had started to walk together at night. They had always gotten along extremely well, and they were even talking about finally starting a family together. "We're going to find him; don't worry I promise you I will not stop until he is found."

Maren nodded and turned back to the herd. "The halla mourn our fallen. No sound is more heart wrenching than their mourning cry. At the least they won't be crying over you. They are quite fond of you."

Drake walked up next to her. If it was more appropriate he would try and comfort her by placing a hand on her shoulder, but such a thing is not appropriate action to take. "The halla are beautiful creatures." He remarked.

Maren lowered her face. "I admire them for their strength and pride. They are equals, not servants like the shemlen horses. At any rate, I do not envy the keeper's decision. I will be praying for Tamlen's and your safe return."

Daringly, Drake reached out and lifted her chin up. "I will find him Maren, I promise you this."

Tears started to form in her eyes. "Thank you Drake. No go, day light is wasting."

The next person that Drake had to see before he headed out was the clan's trade and craft master, Master Ilen. He was extremely good at crafting bows, and the hunter knew that he would need a good one if he was to go out into the forest, and more specifically back to that cave.

Coming up to the trade wagon he saw Ilen giving a hunter one of his bows. But the trade master paused when he saw Drake coming towards him.

"I am glad that you've recovered. Once we find Tamlen, we can concentrate on the journey northward."

Turning, the trade master handed the other hunter the bow. "Thank you for the bow, Master Ilen," the young hunter said, "it is light and sturdy… much better than the one I made last year."

Master Ilen smiled at having received approval. Even though the craft master was well into his elder years, he still rejoiced at hearing praise for his work. "You are more than welcome. You should know that my father made it and used it in battle against the Clayne tribes."

The hunter bowed to the craft master. "I will carry it with honor." And with that the hunter left.

"Could I ask you for a bow as well, Master Ilen?" Drake asked.

The craft master turned to him. "One of my own crafting perhaps?"

Drake nodded his approval. "Yes, thank you."

Turning back to his cart the craft master retrieved one of the bows from the wagon. He then held it up for Drakes inspection. Holding the bow in his hands he ran his fingers across the fine wood, and the delicate carvings. Pulling on the string he was amazed at what he felt. This bow packed a lot of power, and it was hardly heavy at all.

"It may not have a history," Ilen began, "but you'll provide one for it soon enough yes?"

Satisfied with the bow he turned in his old one. "Thank you for the bow master Ilen, I will use it well."

"One last thing," the trade master announced as Drake turned to leave, "Ashalle asked to see you as soon as you awoke. It would be best if you saw her before you left."

Drake bowed to the craft master and walked away. Not far from the trade wagon there was a small hill and at the base of the hill was a small fire with children all sitting around it. At the head of the children, was his guardian mother Ashalle. Even though she was not his blood mother, she was as close as he got to one.

He never knew what had happened to is mother and father, and whenever he asked the clan always avoided it. Not today though. His near death experience showed him that time was precious, and that he needed to know of his past. Walking down to the children he waited for Ashalle t stop speaking before he entered the circle.

"Now you see children," Ashalle was holding up a bow and pointing to different parts of it, "it is important that you remember certain things about a bow. For instance-"

She stopped midsentence however once she saw him. Dropping the bow she immediately ran over to Drake and enveloped him in a small hug. "By the creators, it is so good to see you whole and well. I was so worried."

Drake awkwardly put his arms around her and returned the embrace. He never was comfortable with expressing his private feelings in public, but he felt that she needed this now. "Aneth ara, Ashalle. It's good to see you, too."

Ashalle pulled back and looked him over. "All that time you were ill, the keeper didn't know if you were going to live or die. I've been outside the keeper's tent the whole time. I have never been as relieved as when I hear you would pull through. You must tell me what happened. Everyone says that Tamlen may be dead."

He lowered his head in shame. If Tamlen was truly dead then he held a lot of the blame. "He's missing. That's all we know right now."

Ashalle covered her mouth with her hand. "That is awful. He's been a good friend to you since you were fledglings. You must be more careful. Your mother and father, may they rest in peace, would be horrified to see you take such risks."

At least Drake did not have to bring up the topic now. "You've never spoken of my parents much, Ashalle."

Ashalle started to get a worried look on her face. "What happened it them is a sad tale, and it's in the past. Reopening old wounds benefits no one."

Drake was starting to get frustrated. The clan always did this, whenever he asked about his parents they always side stepped the topic around him. "Don't we Dalish strive to learn of our past?"

Ashalle thought this over. "True. Perhaps you're old enough to hear this, though it…hardly seems like the right time."

"Is there ever a good time?" He countered.

"Very well then. If I do not tell you now, you'll only wonder. Your mother was a hunter, one of the finest. And your father was the keeper before Marethari. He was with us for a very long time. Your mother was from another clan, and her elders did not approve of the match. She and your father had to meet in secret. One day, bandits caught them alone in the forest. Your father was killed, but your mother escaped. She made it back to camp and held to life long enough to give birth to you, but grief wracked her hear. One night, she…she simply walked into the moonlight and never returned."

Drake was left speechless. He knew that both of his parents had met tragedy, but such a tale was almost unheard of in the Dalish clans. Ashalle saw his discomfort and came to him. "Our clan decided not to discuss this around you, lest it poison your hear with sadness."

This was one thing he could understand. If they had told him this tale when he was younger, he might had not lived for very long. "I know it is not much," the sound of Ashalle's voice brought him back to his senses, "but your mother did leave something for you when you came of age."

Reaching into the folds of her clothing she pulled out a small key. "There is a chest near my wagon. Go to it and open it. Inside you will find what your mother left for you."

Reaching up he took the key from her. "Thank you Ashalle."

"Now go," she made a showing movement with her hands. "Find Tamlen so we can move out clan."

She turned back to the children and continued on with her lesson. He was tempted to head over the where Merrill and Fenarel were waiting for him, but he decided against it. "They have waited for me this long, they may as well wait a little while longer.

Turning back into the camp he walked past all the wagons until he came upon his and Ashalle's. Searching around he found the chest she was talking about and opened it. Inside he saw nothing out of the ordinary, until he came across a pendant. It was a small silver disk with a willow tree etched onto the surface f the disk. Raising the pendant to his lips he pressed it to his lips and then slipped the cord around his neck.

It was time to meet up with Merrill and Fenarel. They were more than likely getting impatient waiting for him to join them. Sure enough, near the outskirts of the camp there was Merrill and Fenarel waiting for him. Merrill was an extremely beautiful elf. Her long dark hair flowed behind her. She held her white magic staff that she always carried around with her.

His first impulse was to go to her, but he fought that. She had hurt him deeply, and he was not quite ready to forgiver he just yet. Walking up to them it took until the moment he was standing right next to her before she would acknowledge him. And even then it was no more than a slight nod of her head.

"The Keeper told me I'm to accompany you back to those caves. As her apprentice, I may see something you missed. But our main objective is to find Tamlen, of course. We must make haste; he may not have much time," Merrill explained to Drake.

She still had the same attitude she always had, serous and no nonsense. "Fenarel is coming with us. Do you have any objections to this?"

She looked slightly taken aback by his tone. What did she expect? That he would still fawn after her after she broke his heart. "That depends on the keeper," Merrill said, "I thought we're supposed to go alone."

"We have already talked to the Keeper, Merrill," he explained, "The Keeper is fine with Fenarel coming with us."

"Very well, if the Keeper said that it was alright, that's good enough for me. Now are we ready?"

"Are you worried about getting sick?" He had no idea why he asked her this. No. That was not true. He knew exactly why he asked this. It was because even though she had hurt him deeply, he still had some affection towards her.

But Merrill shrugged away his concern, "a little, but the keeper cured you. How dangerous could it be? Even if I get sick, finding Tamlen, or something valuable, will be worth it."

"How much did the keeper tell you?"

Even though he had no reason to doubt her ability in battle, he had a feeling that whatever they would find in that cave would be more than enough to rattle even her.

Once again Merrill simply shrugged off his question. Apperanlty she was not ready to speak with him either. "Enough to pique my interest…and my concern. You can explain the rest on the way."

"Come on," Fenarel said impatiently, "we are losing day light sitting here talking, we need to move on right away if we are going to have any hope of finding Tamlen."

"Very well then," Drake interjected before Merrill could speak, "let's be on our way then."

And with that, Drake turned and walked out of the camp with Merrill and Fenarel close on his heels. _God's_, Drake semi prayed, _please let us find my friend still alive._ Even with this prayer though, he had a feeling that his long time friend was gone forever.

**Once again I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. I ask once again that y'all review this chapter; I really feed off of your reviews. So please let me know what you all think of this one.**


	3. Origin Part 3

**Alright, here we go with another chapter. Sorry it took me so long to get this one out, I will be trying to update my stories every three weeks or so. Once again DAO does not belong to me.**

**Chapter 3**

Out in the forest, Drake took the lead in front of the other two. He really had no desire right now to be close to either one of them. He would have liked it if he was allowed to go on this mission alone, but he understood the Keepers reasoning. But still. These two were really slowing him down.

Fenarel was okay in moving through the forest, however he was still a newly appointed hunter and he did not have the experience that Drake had. Merrill was a different story. She was not a hunter, and even though she was okay at moving quietly, Drake and Feneral really had to cut down their speed in order for Merrill to catch up.

Coming up on the path that he and Tamlen took, he signaled for the other two too stop. Bending at the knee Drake knelt down and felt the ground. "What are we doing here Drake," Merrill said from behind him.

"This is where Tamlen and I met the shems that told us about the cave." Drake explained.

Standing up he placed his hands on the small of his back, bending back he kept going until he felt it crack. He was still tired. Even after he slept for so long, he still felt as if he wanted to go to sleep. "From here," he continued, "I can pick up the trail that Tamlen and I took. Come on." Without looking back he made his way down the path.

After traveling for a couple of minutes, they were coming upon the location of the dead halla, when he felt something. He had no idea what it was, but he just felt some kind of evil, and it was coming towards them. Drawing his sword he scanned the surrounding forest. Feneral took on his hunter training and immediately drew his bow and notched an arrow.

Merrill however, looked at the two curiously. She had not gone through the training to be a hunter. It was a rule, that when one hunter readied their weapons, all hunters in the group drew and readied their weapons. Just as she was about to open her mouth, Drake raised his hand signaling for silence. Amazingly, she did not say anything. Perhaps she actually understood that on a hunt, you follow the one in the lead.

Coming to a small stream, Drake signaled Merrill and Feneral to stop. Stepping near the stream he knelt down and looked at the indents on the ground. "What are you looking for?"

"This is where I stopped to get a drink Merrill, just before Tamlen found the shems that told us of the cave. From here I will be able to lead us to the cave."

Not waiting for her to reprimand him again, he took off towards the place where Tamlen found the humans. Coming into the clearing he knelt down and looked at the grass pattern. This is definitely the correct place.

"Come," he said to his two companions, "the cave is not too far from this location."

On the path though, a fierce pain in Drake's head forced him to come to a stop in the middle of the path. As he raised his hand to feel his head, the pain doubled, dropping him to his knees. Something was near. He had no idea what it was, or how close, but he knew that something was close, and they were starting to get even closer.

Feeling a pair of soft hands on his back of his neck, he looked up to see Merrill looking down on him with a concerned look on her face. "Drake, what is wrong." She asked?

He opened his mouth to respond to her, but a movement behind her caught his attention. Something had an arrow drawn, and it was pointing right at them. Without thinking he pulled Merrill close to him, despite her protest; just in time to see an arrow implant itself in the tree right behind the pair.

"What in the name of the gods," Feneral cursed as he notched an arrow and let it loose at the creature.

Drake pushed Merrill off of himself, and drew his sword in order to enter the fight. The arrow that Feneral fired had caught the creature in the shoulder, it was not a death shot, but it certainly slowed it down. As he ran towards the creature, it started to prepare another arrow. Diving, he sliced his sword across the chest of the creature, cutting through its armor and almost cleaving the creature in half.

A low growl caused him to snap his head up from the creature he just killed, to another identical one charging at him with a sword raised. Bringing his dagger up, he deflected the sword slash, and countered with a thrust of his sword, right into the creature's neck.

Yanking the blade out of its neck, he wiped the blood off on what could be considered the creature's cloths. While he was cleaning off the blade he examined the creature. To say the very least, it was hideous. It was extremely short, perhaps the size of a dwarf he reckoned. But its skin was a dark blood red almost black color to it. Also the face was extremely deformed. _Is this what a darkspawn is, _he _thought, these creatures are disgusting, but extremely tough; I hope that Tamlen is alright._

Once his blade was cleaned, Merrill and Feneral caught up to him. Merrill immediately brought her hands up to her mouth once she saw the two creatures that they had just killed. "What were those things? Are those darkspawn," she asked to two hunters.

Drake just shrugged his shoulders. "That would make sense. I have never heard of any creature that would look like this."

Merrill shivered as she looked more closely at the darkspawn. "I've never seen anything like them. You can smell the evil on them. Where did they come from? Were they here before?"

Drake shook his head. These things were definitely not here when Tamlen and himself came through here. "Perhaps the mirror has something to do with it. All the problems seemed to start after Tamlen and I found that blasted thing."

"What would darkspawn have to do with our people," Merrill wondered out loud. "The stories say Arlathan fell long before the darkspawn appeared. Well, no need to worry about this right now. We'll find out soon enough. Let's hope we don't find any more of these monsters."

"Well at least we know that these creatures can be killed, even if they are pretty tough," Feneral added into the conversation.

"Very true lethallin, just make sure that your arrows are at the ready. However, before we go, Drake, are you all right? Were you hurt during the fight?

Drake quickly looked over himself. He was not injured at all, but he was slightly fatigued and the headache still remained, but no need for them to know about that. "I'm fine, why do you ask?"

Merrill did not answer right away, so Feneral jumped in. "You… do look quite pale, now that Merrill's mentioned it."

_Oh no, _he thought,_ this is just what I need, more people to worry about me._ "I'm fine. I have a slight headache, but nothing bad at all."

Merrill however, did not look very convinced. "Well, I'll keep an eye on you. You've only just recovered from your illness. But let's not think of that now. We should move on."

Drake whipped the back of his hand against his forehead. No sweat on his head. With how hot his head was feeling at the moment he was surprised that he was not sweating. "Yeah, the sooner we find Tamlen the sooner we can get back to the clan."

After Feneral retrieved his arrow from the dead darkspawn, the three took off down the path. "So, Drake. Why do you think these darkspawn are related to this mirror that you and Tamlen found?" Merrill asked.

He really did not want to get into this with her. She was doubting him again. She always doubted his instincts, even though most of the time he was right. "I do not know why I suspect it, but that mirror had the same evil feeling to it that those creatures back there had. Also, there were none of these creatures around until Tamlen touched that mirror."

"Well, explain to me wh-"

"What is that?" Feneral pointed further down the path.

Drake must have been slipping somehow. How did he not see this and Feneral, the younger hunter, did manage to see it. There was a small line of smoking coming up from the ground further down the path from where they were.

Arriving at the once camp site, Feneral got on his knees and placed his hands over the fire pit where a few logs where still smoldering. "This fire is still hot. Whoever was here is not too far ahead of us. And by the foot prints leaving this area, they are heading in the same direction as us."

Merrill rubbed her chin in thought, "I wonder whose camp this is. Do you remember it being here?"

"No," Drake answered shaking his head, "this wasn't here. It's fresh. Perhaps it belongs to the human who brought me back to the clan?"

"The Grey Warden, he said that he was planning on returning to the cave. Perhaps this is his camp. If so, he's not here now. And we've seen no sign of Tamlen so far either. Maybe we should…wait do you hear that?"

Drake tired focus in on what she might have heard. But there was nothing. No animals, and no wind either it seemed like. "I do not hear anything. It's too quite. It is almost as if all the forest creatures have abandoned this area of the forest."

Merrill nodded her agreement. "Exactly. The forest is too…still. Also there is something in the air…something unnatural."

"Tamlen said he felt the same thing in the cave. I also felt it. This evil presence is almost sickening."

Merrill looked at him with shock. "And now it's affecting the forest? Not just the cave. Maybe that mirror unleashed some kind of sickness."

Feneral stood brushing off the leaves and grass that was sticking to his knees. "That is a most unpleasant thought. If the sickness is spreading this fast, it will reach the clan in no time.

" There is no proof that the sickness that Drake suffered from was air born. At least we can hope that it is not so. But either way, the sooner we find this cave, and Tamlen, the sooner we can leave.

Drake," she said turning back to him, "take us there quickly. We cannot afford to waste anymore time here."

His head was starting to pound even more know. His head was getting worse and worse every step they took towards the cave. _Tamlen, by the name of the gods, where are you?_

After almost another hour of walking, Drake had finally led them to the entrance of the cave, however, they were not alone when they reached the entrance. At least half a dozen of those small darkspawn where sitting outside the cave. Almost as if they were waiting for something. Or more correctly, someone.

"By the gods," Feneral cursed from behind Drake, "how many of those things are there in this forest?"

As they neared the entrance of the cave, Drake had thought it best to not approach it from the same path as before, and luckily his instincts had proved to be right. Now they were sitting behind a large brush that was perhaps twenty strides away from the entrance of the cave. The darkspawn had not spotted them, and would give them the element of surprise.

Looking over their formation Drake quickly tired to put together a strategy. There were two rows of those small darkspawn. The ones in the front had swords and daggers out, but the ones in the back both had bows out, and arrows notched. Those two needed to be taken care of first.

Turning back to his two companions he told them his strategy. "We need to take out the two with the bows first. They are the greatest threat. Feneral, I want you to take out the one on the right, Merrill hit the one on the left with that ice spell I know you are so good with. If you both hit them at the same time, it will surprise them, and allow me to charge up the middle."

"What do we do about the three in front," Feneral asked?

"I'll take care of them, but if I do not get them all, both of you aim for the one I am not attack. Understood?"

Both of the elves nodded, and took their places. Drake knelt down and prepared for his run. _Gods_, he silently prayed, _please, take this pain in my head away for a short time._

When he saw that both were in position, he took off at a dead run. Cutting through the bush, the darkspawn hesitated at his sudden appearance, and that was all that he needed. An arrow appeared in the neck of one of the two darkspawn, and the other froze solid. Two down and three to go now.

Coming to the nearest one, he stabbed his dagger into the creatures gut, and then he swiped his sword across, calmly taking the creatures head off. He turned to the next one, spinning he went low and ran his sword along the back of the creatures knee causing it to collapse. Stabbing his dagger into the downed creature's chest, he used it as a stabilizer and wheeled himself over the dead body.

Regaining his footing, he looked up in time just to see the last standing darkspawn to take an arrow into its temple. _By the gods, where did these creatures come from?_

A quick glance showed that all were dead, so Drake took off into the cave.

Once they were in, Merrill stopped and looked around the cave in semi-aw. "So these are the ruins? Interesting. They are of human design, yet there are elfish artifacts scattered all over the place."

Tamlen and himself had the same thought, that was what drew them in here in the first place. "I know, but we cannot waste time here, we have to press on. Tamlen and I traveled fairly deep into the cave before we found the mirror."

Merrill nodded, still looking at the walls. "Very true Drake, these ruins are interesting and I will want to study them more. But we must find Tamlen, or what's left of him. I can't imagine he's still alive with those creatures about."

That statement combined with the pounding in his head finally broke his patience with her. "Don't talk like that! You don't know that he is dead. We must keep hope that we will find him alive."

Merrill's calm face turned to one of shock. She opened her mouth to contest, but the look in his eyes silenced her. Eventually she nodded to him. "You're right lethallin. We should explore farther before I go one about my fears. I am sorry."

He knew that he took it too far, but his pride would not allow him to consol her. "Which way did Tamlen and yourself go once you got in here." Feneral asked him.

Drake looked around the inside of the cave. _Which way did we go? Last time we just walked around without knowing where we were. Perhaps there are some marks from where the human went that carried me back._

Walking into the next room, the three elves all stopped in shock. Lying all over the ground there were at least a dozen dead darkspawn lying all over the floor. Feneral and himself knelt down to the nearest creature. "What could have done this?" Merrill asked from behind them.

"More than likely the human who brought Drake back," Feneral said pointing at the body, "there are marks on this creature that suggest it was killed with a sword, more than likely a long sword. But it is not like ours. The blade that made this wound was not a curved blade, it was a straight blade."

"Then it was the Grey Warden who helped me," Drake said walking deeper into the ruins, "either way, we need to press on. Perhaps we will find both Tamlen and this Grey Warden in the same place."

Walking through the ruins, Drake tried to keep them on the same path that he and Tamlen followed. There were few actual darkspawn to fight, seeing as how most of them were dead before they could get to them. There were a few that they had to take care of, but none of them were too terrible of a challenge for the three elves.

Coming to the room with the Mirror, the elves saw the human that had help out Drake earlier. Walking into the room, the man turned away from the mirror to face them. His eyes went quickly over the three elves, and then settled in on Drake.

"So you were the one fighting the darkspawn, I thought I heard combat." He said, then pointed at Drake. "You're the elf I found wandering the forest, aren't you? I'm surprised you have recovered."

Drake may have been thankful to the human for saving him, but he was still not completely over his mistrust of humans. "If you heard the fighting, why didn't you help?" He said a little harsher than he would have normally, but his head was starting to pain him again.

The human smiled. "I would have young elf, had I not been battling them myself. Not all the kills here were yours, as you can see. My name is Duncan, and it's a pleasure to finally meet you. The last time we spoke, you were barely conscious. May I have the honor of knowing your names? "

Drake politely bowed his head slightly, "I am Drake, it is and honor Grey Warden."

Merril stepped forward and bowed her head, "Andaran atish'an, Duncan of the Grey Warden. I am Merrill, the keeper's apprentice."

Feneral was the next one to step forward and bow his head, "And I am Fenarel. Did you come here alone human? Battling all those creatures?"

Duncan smirked, "Your keeper did not send you after me, did she? I told her I would be in no danger."

Drake shook his head, "No Grey Warden, we're out here looking for our brother Tamlen. He was with me when we entered these ruins."

The Warden got a sad look in his eyes. "So you and your friend Tamlen both entered this cave? And you both saw this mirror?"

"Yes, Tamlen touched the mirror and I blacked out after he touched it."

"I see. That's…unfortunate. The Grey Wardens have seen artifacts like this mirror before; it is Tevinter in origin, used for communication. Over time some of them simply…break. They become filled with the same taint as the darkspawn. Your friends touch must have released it…It's what made you sick—and your friend, too, I presume."

He lowered his head. "So it is true. I had the darkspawn plague."

The Warden nodded, "You have it still. And it will infect others so long as this mirror exists. Your recovery was only temporary. I can sense the sickness in you, and it is spreading. Look inside yourself and you will see."

He knew that the Warden was not lying. He could feel the sickness growing in him again ever since they left the camp. "Then what should I do? To get rid of this curse?"

Duncan turned back to the mirror and drew his sword. "First we deal with the mirror. It is a pestilence and a threat."

With a mighty swing the mirror shattered under the force of his blade. Whit elight shot out everywhere once the mirror was destroyed, knocking everyone back. When the light recieded, Duncan stood and sheathed his sword. "It is done," he said, "Now let's leave this cursed place. I must speak with the keeper immediately regarding your cure."

"What about Tamlen? We cannot leave him here to die in this manner." Drake almost shouted.

Duncan shook his head sadly. "There is nothing we can do for him young elf."

Drake swung his head in denial, "I'm not leaving until I find him! I will not leave one of my brothers behind like this Grey Warden."

"Let me be very clear," Duncan's voice got an edge to it, "There is nothing you can do for him. He's been tainted for three days not, unaided. Through your keeper's healing arts and your own willpower, you did not die. But Tamlen has no chance. Trust me when I say that he is gone. Now, we should return."

He hung his head in sadness. He knew what the Warden said was true, but he was not ready to give up his search. The least they could do would be to find the body. A small hand was placed on his shoulder, and he turned to see Merrill standing next to him, trying to give him some measure of comfort. "I'm not ready to give up the search just yet."

Duncan nodded in understanding. "If you prefer," he began, "I can wait outside while you look around. But I assure you, he will not be here. I suggest, however, leaving, sooner rather than later. You are sick, whether you feel it or not, and it does you no good to linger."

"Then wait outside. We'll be out when we're ready."

The Warden began to leave the room, "As you wish. I will see you back at camp then young elf."And with that the Warden left the three.

"What do you suggest that we do now lethallin? Where else could he be?" Feneral asked.

He shrugged off Merrill's hand and looked around. Behind the mirror there was another passage way. He pointed to it. "Let us head down that path and see where it leads us."

"And if Tamlen is that there?" Merrill asked.

He turned to look at his two companions. "Then we will leave this place and return to camp.

They both agreed, and soon the three were heading deeper into the ruins. However they did not get far, as a root system cut off their path just shortly after entering the path. It was a dead end. There was nowhere Tamlen could have gone.

He dropped to his knees in the middle of the path. He felt Merrill's arms come around him, trying to give him some measure of comfort. "I am so sorry Drake. I am so sorry that we could not find him."

"I couldn't find him. I couldn't save him, why should I live now?"

Merrill jerked him around and faced him. "Do not say such things lethallin. We will find a way to break this curse on you. Then you will hunt down every darkspawn there is and make sure something like this never happens again. Do you understand?"

Agreeing to her statement, he let her help him stand. He turned one last time to look at the roots. "Very well then," he had to be strong now, "let us head back to the clan and deliver the news. We will have to have some sort of burial for him later."

His two companions agreed with him, and together, the three elves left the cave and headed back to their clan.

** Well there was chapter 3, like it hate it; please send me your reviews. One more chapter left in the origin then onto the main part of the game.**


	4. Origin Part 4

**This chapter finishes up the origin part of this story. After this, we head on out to Ostagar. Once again I do not own DAO.**

**Chapter 4**

The trip back for the three elves and human companion was very quiet. No one felt like talking to one another, and thankfully the human understood their pain. They had just lost clansmen, and a very young one at that. The Dalish were not so numerous that a disappearance had no effect, no quite the opposite. Every time they lost a member of the clan, it was like a knife wound to the heart of the clan.

Reaching the camp, they saw the Keeper Marethari standing on the outskirts of the camp, waiting for them. When she was that Tamlen was indeed not with them, her face turned to one of sadness, but not one of surprise. She must have known that there was little hope for Tamlen. Her eyes lit up though at the site of Duncan. Never the less, she greeted the small group.

"Aneth ara, to you all. I'm relieved that you have all returned safely. However, I did not expect to see you again so soon, Duncan."

Duncan bowed his head in respect. _Well,_ Drake thought, _at least we know that some humans have manners after all._ "I was not expecting to return so soon either, Keeper," Duncan replied.

The Keeper nodded her acceptance, and face the three clansmen. "Dare I ask of Tamlen? What did you find of him?"

The three stood silent for a moment, then Drake cut in. "The Grey Warden says we will find nothing. And I find myself to believe him. We searched the cave heavily, there was no sign of Tamlen, no tracks either to tell us where he went."

The Keeper then turned to Merrill, "I see. Merrill, what about the mirror? Did you bring anything back?"

Merrill opened her mouth to explain, but Duncan cut in fast. "I can answer that, Keeper. I destroyed the mirror."

The Keeper looked at Duncan with annoyance. "I intended to use it to find a cure for this mysterious illness. I trust you had good reasons for your actions Grey Warden?"

"There is much to discuss, Keeper," Duncan explained, "I have learned a great deal since I was last here. And I wish to share it with you then."

The Keeper turned and waved with her hand. "Let us speak privately within my aravel then, Duncan. Merrill, warn the hunters. If darkspawn are about, I want the clan prepared."

Merrill nodded, "Ma nuvenin, Keeper. Right away." And with that she turned and walked away.

Feneral was the next to leave. "I should go too. I need to tell the other hunters about these creatures we may be facing soo."

The Keeper then set her eyes on Drake. "Tell Hahren Paivel what has occurred. He now has the sad task of preparing a service for the dead. He also needs to inform poor Maren of the fate of Tamlen."

"I will take care of that Keeper," Drake said, even though he was not excited about it, but he had promised Tamlen long ago. But first he need to get something.

"Very well then Drake I will leave it to you then, perhaps it is better this way. Now then, if you would please, follow me, Duncan. I am eager to hear what you have say."

Once the Keeper and the Gray Warden left his sight, Drake turned his attention to the inner part of the camp. His eyes scanning for Paivel. He found the old elf near one of the outer fires of the camp. He might as well get this part over with.

Walking up to the elder, Paivel turned to him. The sadness was extremely obvious in his eyes. "So you return with the Gray Warden, but without Tamlen. What happened, da'len? Is he truly lost to us?"

Drake nodded. There was no use in trying to deny it any longer. "Yes, it is true we have not found Tamlen. This is my fault. I have failed the clan."

Paivel shook his head. "You've done nothing of the sort, da'len. Do not blame yourself. It seems the will of the Creators that I sing the dirge for those I held in my arms as babes. I think I know why our immortal ancestors would sleep."

Turning from him, Paivel walked towards the fire. "Swiftly do stars burn a path across the sky, hastening to place one last kiss upon your eye."

Drake walked up to the elder and faced the fire with him. "I don't recognize that poem."

Paivel continued to stare into the fire. "Our ancestors did not age as we do. The shemlen brought a quickening to our blood that changed us forever. Instead of death, those weary of life would pass into uthenera, the waking slumber. In doing this, they made way for the young. It was supposed to be a beautiful time, a celebration of the elder's long life and contribution to his people. Alas, we have no such ceremonies these days."

"Will you prepare a service for Tamlen please?"

"Of course. We've no body to return to the soil, but we shall still sing for Tamlen. The Creators must come to guide him to the Beyond. Tell the keeper it shall be done before the clan is ready to move on."

Drake bowed to the elder. "Thank you, Hahren."

Before he could leave, Paivel called out to him. "Da'len I would like to ask you one more thing, if I may. This…Gray Warden. You have met him now, yes? Is he a good man?"

Drake thought for a moment before he gave his answer. "He saved my life, and is a friend to the clan."

Paivel rubbed his chin in though. "Interesting. What is it he talks to the keeper about, I wonder? Perhaps you should go and ask."

"I plan to Hahren. However they are both together at the moment. I still need to talk to Maren and Ashalle. I should go now."

Paivel smiled. "Of course. May the gods guide your path, da'len."

Leaving the elder he decided that he would do the hardest part next. Turning he headed towards the halla. Placing his hand on the fence, he saw Maren grooming one of the halla.

Hoping over the fence, he walked over to her. When he was beside her, she stopped all her movements. Without turning around, she spoke to him. "Tamlen isn't with you, is he lethallin?"

Drake shook his head even though she could not see him. "No, I am so sorry Maren, I've failed us all."

Maren stood up and turned to him. He expected her to break down in his arms and cry. He expected her to blame him. What he did not expect was the full arm slap that sent his head spinning around and sending himself to the ground. Composing himself on the ground, he felt his lips. A slight smear of blood was starting to show.

"Never say that again Drake."

Looking up she saw that her eyes had hardened, considerably. "You did not fail the clan, yourself, me, or Tamlen. Tamlen was a hunter, just as good as any we have had. If he came across something that killed him, it is likely that any hunter would have died in the fight. We honor our dead by remembering them lethallin, not by blaming ourselves for their death."

Drake made his way back to his feet and faced her. She was right, of course. He should not be blaming himself for this, but forgiving himself was easier said than done.

"Paivel will have the ceremony soon."

Maren nodded to him. Then turned and continued her watch of the halla. "Ashalle was waiting for your return. You should see her before we begin."

Walking up he placed his hand on her shoulder. He felt her tense up, then relax. Leaving her with that, he walked towards the fire where he knew Ashalle would be.

He found her sitting with the children of the clan, reading to them. As she saw him approach however, she turned away from them. Running up to him, she threw her arms around him.

"Thank the Creators you're safe! I questioned the keeper's wisdom at sending you off while you're still sick, but my doubts were misplaced. Tamlen isn't with you. Is it as everyone fears?"

He took her by the shoulders and gently pulled her away from him. "We never found his body."

Ashalle sighed shaking her head. "Oh, poor dear. This is horrible news! Please, take care of yourself and get better. We can't bear to lose anyone else. Let alone you."

"The Grey Warden says that he knows a cure for my illness."

"Uh, that's good. I thought the shemlen's arrival was a bad omen, but perhaps I was wrong. I will see you soon, my dear. You make me very proud."

"I do not know what will happen though. It might come that I will have to leave the clan."

She walked up and placed her hand on his cheek. "If it comes to that, then so be it da'len. You will make the clan proud wherever you go. But in order to do this you must be alive yes?"

At this time, the Keeper and the Grey Warden, Duncan, came over to him and Ashalle.

Your keeper and I have spoken," Duncan began, "and we've come to an arrangement that concerns you. My order is in need of help. You are in need of a cure. When I leave, I hope you will join me. You would make and excellent Grey Warden."

Drake was stunned. Him. A Dalish elf. Was being asked to become a Grey Warden by a human. "What does this have to do with my cure?"

"Everything, I'm afraid. The darkspawn taint courses through your veins. That you recovered at all is remarkable. But eventually, the taint will sicken and kill you, or worse. The Grey Wardens can prevent that, but it means joining us."

Drake looked at the Keeper. He had a sneaking suspicion about what this would entitle. "Keeper, will I be able to return to the clan one day?"

The Keeper shook her head. "We do not know. But we could not watch you suffer. The Grey Warden offers you a way to survive."

Duncan cut in at this point. "This is not simple charity on my part. I would not make this offer if I did not think you had the makings of a GW. Let me be clear: You will likely never return here. We go to fight the darkspawn, a battle that will take us far from your clan. But we need you and others like you."

"Is the clan sending me away, Keeper?"

"A great army of darkspawn gathers in the south," the Keeper said, "A new Blight threatens the land. We cannot outrun this storm. Long ago, the Dalish agreed to aid the Grey Warden against the Blight, should that day arrive. We must honor that agreement. It breaks my heart to send you away. As it would to watch you die slowly from this sickness. This is your duty, and your salvation."

He had no choice. He knew this. Between his duty to the clan, and this sickness, he truthfully had no choice in the matter. "Then I accept this privilege, Duncan, if you'll have me."

A small smile appeared on Duncan's face. "I welcome you to the order. It is rare to have a Dalish amongst us, but they have always served with distinction."

"I know you'll do your clan proud, da'len." The Keeper said taking a step towards him and held out her hand to him. Brining his hand up to meet it, she placed a ring into his hand. "Take this ring. It is your heritage and will protect you against the darkness to come."

Duncan nodded his approval. "A valuable gift. So…are you ready to go?

Drake looked at the Warden. "If it is possible Warden. I would like to stay for Tamlen's funeral. It will be held tonight, and then we can as soon as it is over."

"We have much ground to cover, but I cannot deny you that. Say your farewells…then we must be off. I will be waiting for you on the outskirts of the camp. Make haste, for the darkspawn will not wait for us."

The Keeper then came up and took his arm, leading him back into the camp. "Come then, da'len. Before the Creators guide you from us, let your clan embrace you one last time."

* * *

Walking back into the camp, the entire clan was surrounding Paivel. In front of him, was small dug out hole. Each member of the clan who knew Tamlen were now coming forward and placing a trinket or something that held a memory of Tamlen into the open grave. Maren was the last to approach the grave.

She knelt at the edge of the grave. She carefully removed the medallion that she was wearing, kissed the surface of it, and placed it down into the grave. Once she stood, Drake could see the tears that were falling down her face.

_I will avenge him Maren,_ he silently vowed to himself, _I will destroy the darkspawn so no one else will have to feel the pain that you are going through. I will live up to your expectation Maren, I will make them all suffer for this._

When everyone had backed away from the grave, Merrill stepped forward.

_hahren na melana sahlin  
emma ir abelas_

This was a very old Dalish song for honoring the dead. _In uthenera_.

_  
souver'inan isala hamin  
vhenan him dor'felas  
in uthenera na revas_

_vir sulahn'nehn  
vir dirthera  
vir samahl la numin  
vir lath sa'vunin_

With the song finished, Paivel stood up and started to cover the small grave. Before he filled it completely, he placed a tree seed into the ground. He then covered the seed with dirt and stood up and walked away from the grave. After he left, the clan dispersed, and only Maren stayed near the grave. It was tradition that the closet person to the diseased took care of the seed until the tree started to spring forth.

The Keeper then stepped forward. "Everyone," she called out getting everyone's attention, "Drake is leaving us today. He leaves today to honor us by joining the Grey Wardens. Come now everyone. Embrace our clan mate, and let us remember him fondly as he travels out into the world and fights to bring peace to the land."

All members of the clan came forward and stood in line as they waited for him to pass by them on his way out of camp. As he walked, many came forward and wished him well on his travels and hoped for his safe return. When he came to Ashalle though, he stopped. She had tears running down her face.

"I had a feeling that it would come to this," she began, "more so than this sickness. I have always known that you were meant for greatness beyond this camp."

Drake came forward and placed each of his hands on her shoulders. "I will try and return Ashalle. I don't know when I will be able too. But I promise you, that I will do my best to return to where I belong."

Ashalle laughed. "Did you not listen to what I just said? You have always been aching to leave this camp and see the world. This is your chance to do so Drake. Go out and make the best of it, and I know that your parents will be proud of you. Now go da'len. Go forth and bring honor to the Dalish while you serve the Grey Wardens."

Just as he was about to leave the camp, Merrill stood in front of him. "Drake, I…"

"It is okay Merrill," he said placing a hand on her shoulder, "you do not need to worry. I will bring honor to the clan."

He walked past her, but was stopped when her hand pulled on his. Turning back to her, he looked her in the eyes. She was crying. "I don't…care about that Drake. I just…wanted to ask you to forgive me."

"For what Merrill?"

"I wish for you to forgive me for being such an idiot Drake. I want you to forgive me."

Reaching up and ran his hand across her cheek. "I have forgiven you long again Merrill. I wish you the best. I know that you will do well by the clan."

"Just promise me one thing Drake."

"If I can Merrill."

"Promise me that you will return. The clan needs you more than you can imagine."

Drake lowered his head. "I cannot promise you that Merrill. You told me before that no one can totally predict the future. But I can promise you to try and return once the Blight is ended."

Merrill stepped back from him. "Then I guess that will have to do. Go now lethallin, and bring honor to our clan."

Walking past all of the other members of the clan Drake climbed the hill on the outside of the camp. At the top he saw Duncan standing there, waiting for him. "Are you ready to go now Drake?" Duncan asked him.

Drake looked back at his clan. For some reason he knew that this would be the last time he would ever see any of them. "Yes," he said turning back to Duncan, "let us go now Warden."

"You know, soon you will be a Warden also. There is no need to call me 'Warden'. We will be fighting side by side, so please, call me Duncan."

"Very well Duncan, lead the way. And by the way, where are we heading from here?"

"We will be heading south towards the ruins of Ostagar, which lies just north of the Korcari Wilds. It was built a long time ago to defend off the Wilder folk, and it is a fitting place for us to make out stand. Now come, it is a two day journey from here on foot. Let us hope to reach Ostagar before the darkspawn horde does."

**Well, there was chapter 4. Keep the reviews coming and I will try and get another chapter up before the end of the month. See y'all later.**


	5. The Joining Part 1

**Okay, first and foremost I am sorry for not updating this story earlier. I will try and get the chapters out faster, but I am working full time right now and do not have a lot of spare time.**

**Chapter 5**

Upon reaching the ruins, Drake looked at it in awe. He had always been in the forest, and had never even thought of going near a city. Sure he had seen other ruins before, but none like this. The towers were so tall that he had to bend his neck in order to see to the top of them.

Duncan interrupted his thoughts. "First time you have seen such a sight elf?"

"I have never seen anything like this before," he said, "I didn't know that it was possible to build such things."

"It is impressive, that is for sure. But there are other cities out in Ferelden that are much more glamorous than Ostagar."

Drake could only imagine what other sights there were in Ferelden outside of the forest. "Duncan, if I may ask, how have the battles with the darkspawn gone so far?"

"We have encountered the darkspawn on several occasions and been victorious. But I fear that the bulk of the horde will attack us soon. There are too few Grey Wardens in Fereldon at the moment. We must proceed to the joining as soon as possible.—

"Ho there Duncan."

Drake looked in the direction that the voice was coming from, and saw a man in what looked like golden armor coming towards them. He found it ridicules how much these shems like to flatter themselves with such material things.

Duncan for his part, looked surprised at the new person's arrival. "King Cailan, I did not expect-"

So this man was a King of the shems. That answered the golden armor question then.

"A royal welcome. I was beginning to worry you'd miss all the fun!" The king said with a smile.

"Not if I could help it, your Majesty."

"Then I'll have the mighty Duncan at my side in battle after all! Glorious! The other Wardens told me you've found a promising recruit. I take it this is he?"

Duncan made a motion for Drake to step forward. He had to admit, that even through this man was a king of the shems, he seemed like an alright man. "Allow me to introduce you, your Majesty."

"No need to be so formal, Duncan." The King said waving him off. "We'll be shedding blood together, after all. Ho there, friend! Might I know your name?"

Drake lowered his head slightly. "I am known as Drake, your Majesty."

"Pleased to meet you! The Gray Wardens are desperate to bolster their numbers, and I, for one, am glad to help them. You are Dalish, are you not? I hear your people possess remarkable skill and honor."

Drake was surprised at this. This shem actually thought well of the Dalish? "I thought humans considered us dangerous vagrants."

Cailan seemed a little unease by his question. "To be fair, your people can be a bit…standoffish. Not that I blame them, of course. I tell you this: you are very welcome here. The Gray Wardens will benefit greatly with you amongst them. Sorry to cut this short, but I should return to my tent. Loghain waits eagerly to bore me with his strategies."

Duncan caught the kings attention again before he could run off. "Your uncle sends his greetings and reminds you that Redcliffe forces could be here in less than a week."

"Ha! Eamon just wants in on the glory." Cailan laughed. "We've won three battles against these monsters and tomorrow should be no different."

"I did not realize that things were going so well." Drake commented. Form his point of view, it seemed as if things were just beginning.

"I'm not even sure this is a true Blight. There are plenty of darkspawn on the field, but alas, we've seen no sign of an archdeamon."

Duncan looked at the king. "Disappointed , your Majesty?"

Cailan started to make large hand movements while he talked. "I'd hoped for a war like in the tales! A king riding with the fabled Gray Wardens against a tained god! But I suppose this will have to do. I must go before Loghain sends out a search party. Farewell, Gray Wardens."

Once the King was out of sight, Drake turned to his leader. "Is what this Kings says true?"

Duncan nodded to him. "What the king said is true. They've won several battles against the darkspawn here."

Drake picked up on the underlaying tone in the elder Gray Wardens voice. "Yet you don't sound very reassured for having won these battles."

"Your instincts are as sharp as any elf I have ever met." Duncan motioned him to move forward across the bridge. "I know there is an archdemon behind this. But I cannot ask the king to act solely on my feelings."

This confused the young elf. "Why not? He seems to regard the Gray Wardens highly."

"Yet, he does not believe in me enough to heed my advice and wait for reinforcements from the Gray Wardens of Orlais. He believes our legend alone makes him invulnerable. The Gray Warden's numbers in Ferelden are too few. We must do what we can and look to Teyrn Loghain to make up the difference. To that end, we should proceed with the Joining ritual without delay."

"Very well then," the young hunter said turning the Duncan. "What do you need me to do? And I will gladly do it."

"I am surprised at your courage. Many fear this ritual. For now feel free to explore the camp here as you wish. All I ask is that you do not leave it for the time being. Until then, I have business I must attend to. You may find me at the Gray Wardens tent on the other side of the bridge, should you need to. Also find a man named Alistair, once you have found him, come and find me. And with that my comrade, I bid you farewell."

Duncan crossed his arms over his chest and bowed. Drake proceeded with the elvish way of saying good bye. He touched just above his eye and lowered his head. "Farewell, Duncan of the Gray Wardens."

* * *

After Duncan had left his sight, he studied the camp carefully. There were two large tents that looked like they could fit the better part of two families in each. And there were also many other tents of varying design and color. All extremely impractical. '_Why is it that these shem's always find the need to use such useless things? _

Turning to his right, he saw what he could only assume where mages practicing magic. They were waving their arms above their heads and a cloud of mist hung over them. The Dalish had magic at their disposal, but they refused to send their kindred off to the so called Circle of Magi for training. Why anyone would want to be locked in a tower when they could be off wondering the woods was beyond him.

He was so lost in his thoughts, that he almost ran over an elderly women who was sitting outside where the mages where practicing their art. "My apologies." He said lowering his eyes.

The old woman had a kind look to her face. "Greetings, young man. There is no harm done, so you have nothing to apologize for. Wait. You are Duncan's newest recruit, are you not? He's not a man easily impressed. You should be proud. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Wynne, one of the mages summoned by the king."

Drake lowered his head in greeting. "I am Drake Mahariel of the Dalish elves, come to join the order of the Gray Wardens."

The woman smilled at him. "Well met, and good luck to you on the battlefield. To us all, in fact."

Drake was surprised that they would let a woman of her age fight on the front lines. These shems had no respect if they did. "Will you be fighting beside the king?"

She shook her head. "Not precisely. The Gray Wardens will be on the front lines, not the mages. Still, we have out parts to play. To defeat the darkspawn, we have to work together. It's not an idea everyone seems able to grasp."

"Do you know much about the darkspawn?" He figured that this would be a good time to learn about the creatures that he would be fighting against.

"Some. Do you? Do you know about the connection between them and the Fade, for example?"

'_Fade,_' he thought, '_what does she mean by that. Perhaps she means the Beyond._' "We call it the Beyond…but I know of no connection that and the darkspawn."

"Any time your spirit leaves your earthly body, whether it's to dream or to die, it passes into the realm we call the Fade. It's home to many spirits, some benevolent, others far less so. At the heart of the Fade lies the Black City."

"What's the Black City?"

"Some say the Black City was once the seat of the Maker. But when mages from the Tevinter Imperium found a way into the City, it was tainted with their sin. That taint transformed those men, turning them into twisted reflections of their own hearts. And the Maker cast them back to the earth, where they became the first darkspawn. At least, that's what the Chant of Light says.

"And is that true?" He was now generally interested in this woman's story.

"It may be allegory, meant to teach us that our own evil causes human suffering. Or it may be true. It is as good an explanation as any, for now."

"At least it's something to ponder."

"Yes, occasionally it's wise to contemplate one's actions. But I'm certain Duncan has more for you to do than talk to me. Farewell, Drake of the Dalish and future Gray Warden."

He was more than surprised that this woman knew the proper way to say good bye. "Farewell, Wynne of the Circle of Magi."

Walking around the camp more, he saw more surprising things. Although, considering he was in a shem camp, he shouldn't be so surprised. There were elves running around without tattoo's on their faces. City Elves, pathetic slaves to the humans. There was a human woman up on stage, proclaiming about the good of the Andraste and some other shit that he didn't care about.

Heading over towards a fenced in area, he saw a human man looking over the fence and muttering to himself. "Hmmmm. This isn't good. I'd hate to waste such a promising member of the breed."

Turing around, the man finally took Notice of Drake. "Holy Andraste, you scared the shit out of me."

These shems must be stone death to hear him approach. A child of the Dalish could've done better. "My apologies, it was not my intention to startle you."

"Startle me? You damn near sent me to the Fade elf. Wait. Are you the new Warden? If so, then I could use some help."

"What's the problem?"

The man waved at a bunch of caged in animals. These must be what the shems called a 'dog'. "This is a mabari. Smart breed, and strong. His owner died in the last battle, and the poor hound swallowed the darkspawn blood. I have medicine that might help him, but I need him muzzled first. Could you help to calm him?"

Drake had always been gifted when it came to different animals. He was mild legend in his clan for his ability to calm the halla. This animal couldn't be much different from anything else he had seen so far. "Very well," he said, "I'll give it a shot."

The man seemed extremely relieved. "Go in the pen and let him smell you. We'll know right away if he'll respond. Let's hope this works. I would really hate to have to put him down."

Drake walked into the pen and spotted the dog that the man was talking about. Approaching carefully, he let the dog take notice of him before he got too close. The dog looked up at Drake respectfully and back down from his aggressive stance. There was a definite amount of intelligence in the creature's eyes; however Drake could also see a great deal of pain. Moving slowly, he leaned forward and placed the muzzle on the dog. The dog growled weekly at him, but lacked the energy or will to lunge out at him. With his job done, Drake carefully left the poor creature, never taking his eyes off of him.

"Well done!" The kennel master said patting him on the back, "Now I can treat the dog properly-poor fellow. Come to think of it, are you heading into the Wilds anytime soon?

The 'Wilds'? Was that the name of the forest nearby? "I might be, why do you ask?"

"There's a particular herb I could use to improve the dog's chances." The man explained. "It's a flower that grows in the swamps here, if I remember. If you happen across it, I could use it. It's very distinctive: all white with a blood-red center."

Drake believed that he knew this flower. It was often used to treat wounded halla. "I'll see if I can find one. If we go into the forest."

The kennel master bowed to him. "Good. In the meantime, I'll begin treating out poor friend. Good luck my elvish friend."

Drake bowed his head, and resumed his searching of the camp.

* * *

"Well, you're not what I thought you'd be."

Drake looked around for a voice, and spotted a dark haired man in light leather armor. Placing a hand on his dagger, he stared at the insulting shem. "Are you talking to me shem?"

The man stood up straight from the pillar that he was leaning against and quickly waved his hands infront of himself. "Forgive me, I meant no offense my elvish companion. The name's Daveth. May I have the honor of knowing your name?"

Drake let go of his dagger and nodded to the human Daveth. "My name is Drake Mahariel of the Dalish."

"It's about bloody time you came along. I was beginning to think they cooked this ritual up just for out benefit."

"What kind of ritual are you talking about?" Drake asked.

"I happened to be sneaking around camp last night, see, and I heard a couple of Gray Wardens talking. So I listen in for a bit. I'm thinking they plan t send us into the Wilds."

_What is this Wilds_? He thought. "The Wilds? Is that the forest outside of this camp?"

Daveth nodded. "We're right on the northern edge of the Korcari Wilds here. Miles and miles of savage country. My home village isn't far, and I grew up on tales about the Wilds. Even been in there a few times…scary place. I must say, it is a relief that we will have one of the Dalish wood-elves around when we go into that forest."

"Why are the Wilds so frightening? I have been through many forest and they are not too dangerous. Except to you shems who don't know what you are doing in the woods."

Daveth shrugged. "Well, there are cannibals, beasts, witches, and now there are darkspawn in the forest. What isn't to be scared of?"

Drake chuckled. "Darkspawn are not tough in the forest, they are even more disorganized than you shems when they are in the forest."

Daveth laughed. "Alright, I get your point my Dalish friend. We humans are not too good in the forest. But still. This whole ritual joining the Gray Wardens, it's all too secretive for me. Makes my nose twitch. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Like we have a choice."

This did not make sense? Didn't the Wardens only take volunteers? "They're forcing you to be here?"

"I got nowhere else to go after what Duncan saved me from. How about you? Why are you here?" Daveth asked.

"My _lethallin_ and I were out hunting when we came across a group of shems trespassing in our forest. They told us they saw a cave. When Tamlen and I went in to investigate, we encountered some darkspawn and a mirror."

"A mirror?" Daveth asked, "that doesn't seem too dangerous."

Drake continued his story, "Tamlen touched it's surface, and I was knocked out. Duncan saved me. He later told me the mirror was some form of magical mirror. Because of this, I received the curse of the darkspawn. The only thing that can cure me is by joining the Gray Wardens."

"Man, that is really sad man. So, when all this is over, will you head back to your clan?"

Drake felt the sadness return just like every time he thought of his clan. "No, even if I survive this, I could spend my whole life trying to find them, and more than likely wouldn't. Besides, the Gray Wardens are my life now, my clan knows this and do not expect me to return."

"I am sorry for bringing up these sad memories," Daveth sad bowing to him, "Anyway, I expect it's time to get back to Duncan. That's where I'll be, if you need me for anything. See you soon Drake."

"Farewell, Daveth." Drake said crossing his arms and bowing slightly to the departing human.

The rest of the camp was even stranger. There was a man in a cage hanging slightly above the ground. _Shems,_ he thought, _they do the strangest thing to their own._ There was a woman standing up on a stage talking about the glory of the Maker and the prophet Andreste. A man with a sword that was ridiculously large eventually came over to him.

"Greetings." The man said giving him a strange salute. "You must be the third recruit we've heard about?"

Are all humans outrageously inconsiderate? The only three that he had met so far that showed any amount of manners was Duncan, the King, and the Mage Wynne. Deciding not to cause an incident he politety inclined his head. "Yes, I am Drake Mahariel of the Dalish."

"Ser Jory is my name. I hail from Redcliffe, where I served as knight under the command of Arl Eamon. I wasn't aware elves could join the Gray Wardens. Those camped in the valley are all human."

Are these shems all idiots? Or just plan ignorant. "What's that supposed to mean," he asked throwing a small amount of anger into his voice, "are you suggesting that the skills of the elves are not comparable to those of you humans?"

"No no, not at all," the knight said waving his hands, "it's just that in some places elves are not always permitted in the military. I hope we're both lucky enough to eventually join the Wardens. Is it not thrilling to be given that chance?"

"For starters, I am not from most 'places'. I am of the Dalish. We don't live in your cities. We live in the forest away from you humans. Because of this, we train ourselves. We have no need to seek the recognition of the humans. As for joining the Wardens; Yes, I'm looking forward to it. My people have always respected the Gray Wardens and it is an honor to be chosen."

He could tell that this human was starting to get frightened of his tone, but Drake didn't care. These humans have pushed the elves around far enough for his taste. Finally the knight regained his sense and stammered onto a new conversation. "I fought hard to get here also you know. Impressing Duncan was not easy. But there is one thing that still interests me. Tell me, has anyone told you what this Joining ritual entails?

Drake just shook his head. "Daveth, the other Warden Recruit, said we might be going into the Wilds for part of the Joining."

Jory looked out in fear over the forest. _Great Elgar'nan are all humans this scared of the forest? No wonder they all live is those big cities behind their walls. They are too scared to actually go outside. _

"I never heard of such a ritual." The knight began again. "I had no idea there were more tests after getting recruited. I suppose since you're finally here I'd best get back to Duncan. I shall see you there." And with that the knight walked off.

Figuring that he had wasted enough time, he set out to find this man 'Alistair'. Walking through the archways of what once was an amazing structure, he saw that there were two men arguing. _Well,_ he thought, _this is where Duncan told me to meet Alistair, so maybe one of those two men is him._

Deciding to give the two their space for the time being, he stood back a good twenty paces from where the two men were.

"What is it now?" The man in robes asked. Perhaps he was part of the Circle, like Wynne. "Haven't the Gray Wardens asked more than enough of the Circle?"

The man in the plate armor spoke up. "I simply came to deliver a message from the revered mother, ser mage. She desires your presence."

"What her Reverence 'desires' is of no concern to me! I am busy helping the Gray Wardens—by the king's orders, I might add!"

"Should I have asked her to write a note?" The man with armor asked casually.

This constant arguing between people, Drake didn't understand these shems. They fought against the darkspawn and each other at the same time. How can they not see that this is not the time for differences?

"Enough!" The man with robes yelled causing Drake to focus in on the two men again. "I will speak to the woman if I must! Get out of my way, fool!" And with that, the man roughly pushed past the armored man.

Once he was out of hearing, the man in armor approached Drake. "You know, one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together."

He was certainly calm for someone who just got out of an argument. Was he toying with the mage? "You are very strange human."

Instead of being insulted, the man threw his head back and laughed. "You're not the first to tell me that. Wait, we haven't met, have we? I don't suppose you happen to be another mage?"

"Would that make your day worse?"

The human laughed harder. "Hardly. I just like to know my chances of being turned into a toad at any given moment. Wait, I do know who you are. You're Duncan's new recruit, the Dalish. I should have recognized you right away. I apologize."

"There is no harm done. You must be this 'Alistair' that Duncan told me about."

"Duncan mention me? Nothing bad I hope. As the junior member of the order, I'll be accompanying you when you prepare for the Joining."

"It is an honor to meet you Gray Warden. My name is Drake Mahariel."

"Right that was the name. So, I'm curious: have you ever actually encountered darkspawn before?"

"Yes just recently, a small group of darkspawn appeared near my clan."

"Good I am glad that you've had experience with the darkspawn. Most of those who try and join the Gray Wardens have never even seen the darkspawn. As for myself, I've only fought them once up close. And that was before the battles here started…which Duncan has kept me out of so far. Tell me, did you find them as monstrous as I did?"

"I found that those creatures where hideous, dangerous, but still killable."

"You'll be at an advantage then my friend. Most new recruits have never even seen darkspawn. Anyhow, whenever you're ready let's head back to Duncan. I imagine he's eager to get things started."

"That argument I saw…what was it about if I may ask?"

"With the mage? The Circle is here at the king's request and the Chantry doesn't like that one bit. They just love letting mages know how unwelcome they are. Which puts me in a bit of an awkward position. I was once a templar."

The templar's name was one that Drake was familiar with. Whenever they had stumbled upon a Dalish camp, they would try and take any of the clan who could use magic, sometimes at the cost of blood. "You were a mage hunter then, before you joined the Gray Wardens?"

Alistair rubbed the back of his neck. Clearly this human could see where he was brining the conversation and he was trying to avoid it. "Not that that's all templars do, but yes. The Chantry raised me until Duncan recruited me six months ago. I'm sure the revered mother meant it as an insult-sending me as her messenger-and the mage picked right up on that. I never would have agreed to deliver it, but Duncan says we're all to cooperate and get along. Apparently, they didn't get the same speech."

"But, enough of this sad story," Alistair said walking past him and motioning him to follow, "come now; Duncan waits to send us on our way."

The two men walked through the camp and found Duncan and the other two Gray Warden recruits near the dog kennel. Duncan was the first to notice their arrival. "You found Alistair, did you? Good. I'll assume you are ready to begin preparations. Assuming, of course, that you're quite finished riling up the mages Alistair."

Alistair walked up to Duncan's side and shrugged, "What can I say? The revered mother ambushed me. The way she wields guilt, they should stick her in the army."

Duncan frowned at the young Warden, "She forced you to sass the mage, did she? We cannot afford to antagonize anyone, Alistair. We don't need to give anyone more ammunition to use against us."

"You're right, Duncan. I apologize," Alistair said lowering his eyes.

Duncan then Now then, since you are all here, we can begin. You four will be heading into the Korcari Wilds to perform two tasks."

"The Wilds," Daveth said, "what happens if we run into witches or other creatures?"

"There is no reason to fear the creatures of the forest," Drake said calmly, "the woodland animals will flee when they sense the darkspawn around."

"Surviving the Wilds is part of your test," Duncan explained, "within the Wilds; you will need to complete two tasks. The first is to obtain three vials of darkspawn blood, one for each recruit.

_Darkspawn blood_? Drake thought. _What is that needed for_? "What do we need darkspawn blood for?"

"The blood is needed for the Joining itself. I'll explain more once you've returned."

"Very well then. What's the second task to be done in the forest?"

"There was once a Gray Warden archive in the Wilds, abandoned long ago when we could no longer afford to maintain such remote outposts. It has recently come to our attention that some scrolls have been left behind, magically sealed to protect them. Alistair, I want you to retrieve these scrolls if you can."

"What kind of scrolls are these?"

"Old treaties, if you're curious. Promises of support made to the Gray Wardens long ago. They were once considered only formalities. With so many having forgotten their commitments to us, I suspect it may be a good idea to have something to remind them with."

"So our tasks within the woods are to find the archive, three vials of blood and stay alive. Understood."

"Well," Jory said looking at Drake, "you are certainty full of yourself elf. What makes you so sure that you will succeed in this trial?"

"It is simple human; if you doubt that you will succeed then you doubt your skills. If you doubt yourself, you will have fear. When you have fear, you become sloppy, and you die. All Dalish children know this. Are you telling me that you don't?"

Jory reached for the small dagger at his side. "You dare insult me you knife ear-"

Before he could get the rest of his sentence out, or unsheathe his dagger; Drake had his bow drawn, and arrow knocked and pulled back. The tip of the arrow was resting right under Jory's chin.

"Enough," Duncan said stepping between the two, "this is no time to be fighting each other. Jory, Drake has a point. This test is both physical and mental. If you cannot handle it, then you will die quickly in the Wardens ranks."

Turning to Drake, he placed a hand on his bow and lowered it. "As much as it may go against what you have learned, we cannot go fighting each other. All are needed to fight the darkspawn. It is not just your clan which is in danger, but all living things in Fereldan. Remember that."

Duncan walked away from the two, and Drake returned his weapons to their holsters. He was more embarrassed than anything at having lost his temper. "Watch over your charges, Alistair." Duncan said facing the group of four, "return quickly, and safely."

"We will Duncan."

"Then may the maker watch over your path. I will see you when you return." And with that Duncan turned and walked away from the group.

Once he was out of earshot, Alistair faced the group. "Alright, for starters, there will be no more confrontation between you three from here on out, is that understood?"

He waited for both Drake and Jory to nod before he continued. "Good, then let's head out. The Wilds is a dangerous place in the day, and we don't want to be caught out there during the night."

As the group started towards the edge of the camp, Jory walked up next to Drake. "Listen here knife-ear," Jory said with venom, "if I fail this test due to your lack of skill, I will personally kill you."

This time though, Drake refused to respond to the insulting shem. Instead, he walked faster and headed out into the Wilds before the rest of the group could catch up to him. Entering the woods he felt at home again. This is where he belonged, among the woods and the rivers. This was his element, and he was going to use it his advantage.

**One of the longer chapters I believe, sorry for any grammar errors, but I was in a hurry to get this one out. Please Review, your feedback really helps me out while writing this. Hope y'all enjoyed it, and I'll see ya in the next chapter.**


	6. The Joining Part 2

**Chapter 6**

There was still enough light in the forest to see well, but these Wilds had a strange presence to them. Drake assumed that it was either due to the darkspawn, or the rumored creatures that were said to live in the forest.

Hearing a twig snap to his right, he turned and found his three companions stumbling through the woods. _How stupid do are these shems?_ He thought. Alistair moved with the grace of a man who was use to the forest, and so did Daveth. However Jory, was the one that was making all the noise. If they did not stop him soon, he would attract something.

Scouting ahead of the group, he heard a low growl followed by a slight yipping noise. Checking around the side of a large tree he came across a small pack of wolves that were living in the forest. Acting quickly, he ducked back behind the tree before the wolves could spot him. Thankfully he was downwind so the wolves would not be able to smell him. Peeking out from behind his hiding place, he looked closely at the pack. This was more than just a hunting pack of wolves, there were cubs beside the wolves also.

Another twig snapping, and the moving of a brush, and Jory appeared along with Alistair and Daveth. The wolves, immediately took this as a threat, and did the only thing they could to protect their young. They charged at the three.

Jory was the first to act; he drew his long sword and cut down one of the wolves that jumped at him. Daveth unhooked his bow and let lose an arrow, dropping another one. Alistair raised his sword and shield, defending against a pouncing wolf, and striking him down simultaneously. Holding his bow, he notched an arrow and headed into the fray.

Jumping off a rock, he let lose his arrow, striking a wolf in the back and killing it instantly. He then used his bow to swat at the other wolves, making them back up. The wolves, now seeing that they were outmatched, quickly ran over to their pups. Picking them up in their mouths, the rest of the pack ran off north into the woods.

"Holy Andraste," Daveth said, "thank the maker that you showed up Drake, who the hell knows what would've happened if you hadn't surprised them enough to flee."

"Yeah," Jory said wiping blood off his blade, "it looks like the elf finally found a use for himself."

Drake didn't hesitate this time; raising his bow he smacked Jory across the face.

"What in the name of the fade was that for? You want to kill me or what?" Jory yelled spitting blood. "_Shue shah tauthau toetoi thuet."_

Alistair tried to help Jory up, but Jory pushed his hand away. "What was that you just said?" He yelled getting close to the elf.

"I said," Drake said looking into Jory's eyes, "that 'I don't wish to kill you'. But there was no reason for them to die." He said pointing at the wolves.

Alistair remained quiet, leaning back with his arms crossed. "Well, hold on Drake," Daveth said stepping between the knight and the elf, "what do you mean by that. Those wolves attacked us. We were just defending ourselves."

"You are like _da'len_, stumbling around the forest, making noise, and alerting everything to our presence here."

"There is no way we could've known that those wolves where there Drake," Alistair said finally coming forward.

"I knew." He said simply.

"And how in the name of Andraste would you know that?" Jory asked.

"Because _shemlen_, I know that forest and I listen to it."

Hearing a slight whine from behind them, Drake turned and saw a wounded wolf trying to get back up. It was one of the ones that Jory slashed. There was no hope for it, only pain was left. Walking closely to it, he ignored the calls of Alistair to get back, and he knelt in front of the wolf, looking him in the eye. Drawing his dagger he held it level with the once proud wolfs chest.

"_Abelas,_" he said as he drove the dagger into the wolfs heart, killing it instantly. Standing, he whipped the blood of the blade and returned it to its sheath. Turning to the three men he spoke very clearly. "I'll lead from now on. You will follow my footsteps, and hopefully we will not be forced to end any more creatures' lives beside for the darkspawn."

Neither Daveth or Jory questioned him again. Following an old path through the forest, they came across a caravan that was destroyed. "Holy Andraste," Jory said looking at the damage.

"Darkspawn," Alistair said calmly, "they are always excessive whenever they kill someone."

"Who…is that? Grey…Wardens…?"

"Who said that," Daveth said looking around.

An arm was weekly raised near the back of the caravan. Drake ran over to him, and turned him over so that he could examine his wounds. They were mostly shallow, but if he didn't get medical help fast, he wouldn't live for very much longer.

"Does anyone have bandages on them? Let's try and bandage him up, at least."

Alistair started to rummage through his pack. "I have some bandages in my pack."

Daveth took the bandages from Alistair and bond the injured man's wounds with Drakes help. Once his wounds where bandaged, Drake took out a small health poultice. Tilting the man's head back, Drake slowly poured the red liquid down the man's throat.

Once the bottle was empty, Drake and Daveth helped the man to his feet. Groaning, the man started to walk back towards the camp. "Thank you! I…I've got to get out of here."

As the man left them, Jory was the firsts to break the silence. "Did you hear? An entire patrol of seasoned men killed by darkspawn!"

"Calm down, Ser Jory." Alistair said trying to reign in his fear. "We'll be fine if we're careful."

"Those soldiers were careful," Jory tried to reason, "and they were still overwhelmed. How many darkspawn can the four of us slay? A dozen? A hundred? There's an entire army in these forests!"

"There are darkspawn about, but we're in no danger of walking into the bulk of the horde."

"How do you know? I'm not a coward, but this is foolish and reckless. We should go back."

"We're far from helpless, here. We'll be fine. And by what you are saying, you just keep sounding more and more like a coward to me. Also, an army would be easy to spot in this forest."

"Watch what you say elf. I still do not relish the thought of encountering an army." Jory said.

"Know this," Alistair said drawing attention back to himself, "all Gray Wardens can sense darkspawn. Whatever their cunning, I guarantee they won't take us by surprise. That's why I'm here."

"You see, ser knight?" Daveth said slapping the knight on the back, "we might die, but we'll be warned about it first.

"That is…reassuring?" Jory said with a perplexed look on his face.

"That doesn't mean I'm here to make this easy, however." Alistair said walking down the path, "So let's get a move on."

Drake took point into the forest, using all of his training to try and feel out the forest. The taint in him made it difficult however. As they were walking by the remnants of a wall, Drake spotted something that caused him to stop. A white flower with a blood red center was sticking out from the tall weeds near the ponds edge.

"I know that flower," Daveth said kneeling down next to Drake as he examined the flower.

"The Kennel Master said that he needed this flower," Drake explained to Alistair and Jory, "He uses it to help cure the dogs that have been infected with the darkspawn blood."

Cutting the flower carefully near the ground, Drake and Daveth wrapped the flower up in some cloth and stored it into Drakes pack.

As they continued onward, Drake started to get the same feeling he did back when he first encountered the darkspawn back with his clan. Coming around a turn, they saw no less than five or six darkspawn standing around a corpse.

Drake and Daveth wasted no time. Before the darkspawn could notice their presence, bith rouges knocked and arrow, and let it fly. Drake's arrow took one of the darkspawn in the neck, and Daveth's hit the darkspawn straight in the eye.

"Your pretty good with that bow," Drake observed, "for a human that is."

Removing the vials from their packs; Drake, Daveth, and Jory went up to the darkspawn that they slew and filled the vials to the top with the black blood.

"Alistair," Drake said putting the stopper on his vial, "do you have any idea where the ruins that hold the scrolls might be?"

Alistair shook his head. "Sorry, but nope. All that I know is that it was a tower on a hill. Perhaps that hill over there would be a good place to start."

The three men turned to see where he was pointing. The hill that he was talking about would take them at least an hour to reach. "Then let us not waste any more time," Drake called over his shoulder as he walked off in the direction of the ruins.

* * *

For the next hour the group of four trekked through the marsh lands, trying to find the old ruins. They ran across several small groups of darkspawn, but nothing to give them too much trouble. There was one group near an old bridge where there was an Emissary. The darkspawn mage sent spell after spell at the group, but a combination of Drakes and Daveth's arrows took the creature down.

They finally reached the ruins, but they were not the only ones there. While the group was ducked behind a fallen tree, Drake looked around the edge to see how big a group of darkspawn was guarding it. There were no more than a dozen or so, but there was also a new type fo darkspawn with them that he had no seen before.

"Shit," he heard Alistair curse, "that is a Hurlock Alpha. It is a lot stronger than any of the other darkspawn that we've seen up until now. You got a plan Drake on how to proceed?"

H e looked over the terrain once more before formulating his plan. "Daveth and Jory will take cover next to the fall tree over there," he said pointing to a fallen down tree next to them, "and Alistair and I will stay here. Daveth and I will take out their archers from here, drawing the others to us. When they get between us, Alistair and Jory will come out from hiding and pincer them. Once they are in the trap, Daveth and I will enter into the melee also."

"Since when did you become the great tactician?" Jory sneered.

"This is the strategy that we Dalish used when my clan hunted shemlen who violated our forest. It has worked every time against shems. So, unless you are saying that darkspawn are smarter than you humans. "

"Enough you two, this plan will work well enough. Daveth, Jory get into position." Alistair said stopping the inevitable argument.

Once the two were in their places, Drake went to stand, but was stopped by Alistair. "You know, if you both become Gray Wardens, then you are going to need to get a long."

"I have no problem with the Knight," Drake said readying an arrow, "it seems that he is the one who has a problem with me. But that is a discussion for later. Now, it is time to kill."

Not wanting to give Alistair another opening, he stood up from his hiding place and let lose his arrow. Sending it right into a darkspawn's eye. Daveth was right behind him with his own shot, taking down another darkspawn. The remaining darkspawn started to sprint towards the two archers. As Drake and Daveth let go of another volley, Alistair strapped on his shield and Jory tightened his grip on his great sword.

_Just a little further now,_ Drake willed as he let lose another arrow. "NOW!" He yelled when the darkspawn were in position.

Just like with all the humans that fell for this trap, the darkspawn did too. Alistair and Jory let lose a war cry and jumped out from their respective hiding places. The darkspanw were startled just enough to give the two knights the edge. Each of them was able to cut down another darkspawn before the enemy was able to recover from their shock.

Drake placed his bow back, and drew his long-sword and dagger. Jumping in the melee, he block a downward strike from a darkspawn. With his sword raised, he slashed the creature's neck with his dagger.

A low growl was his only warning to duck as an axe sailed over his head. Rolling on the ground, he regained his footing in time to see the Hurlock Alpha charge at him. For the next several minutes the two traded blows with each other. The elf using his speed to side step and avoid the creatures crushing axe, and the Hurlock using his strength to try and crush the elf.

His opening came when the Alpha raised his axe over its head. Sidestepping the downward strike, Drake stabbed the Alpha in the leg with his dagger. Leaving the knife in, he let go and stepped on the axe. Raising his blade, he brought it down as hard as he could. The sword cut through its helmet and went halfway through the creature's skull.

A few hard jerks and his sword was free of the darkspawn's skull. Looking over, he saw that his three companions had dispatched the rest of the retched creatures. "Well," Alistair said cleaning off his blade, "I would have to say that plan worked damn near perfection."

"You had doubts?" The elf asked.

"Well," Alistair said sheathing his sword, "even the best plans can go astray. But none the less, we're here. Let's hope that the treaties are still inside."

The four men entered the ruined tower and began their search. Since they entered though, and even during their encounter with the darkspawn outside, Drake had a feeling that they were being watched, but every time he looked around, there was nothing.

Spotting a chest in the ground, he turned to his companions. "I believe that the chest is over here."

Once the three humans came up to him, Drake knelt down and forced the chest open. The hard packed earth was all that greeted them. "Well, that is to say a word. Disappointing." Daveth said standing up.

"Well, what have we here?"

Drake, as well as the human men all turned to see who managed to sneak up on them. It was a human woman, a mage if he had to say. His good eye sight was able to pick out that she had pulled up black hair, and gold eyes. The main thing that caught his attention perhaps was the scant amount of clothing she wore.

"Intruder's or perhaps vultures, come into these darkspawn filled Wilds on mine in search of easy prey? What say you, hmm? Are you a scavenger or intruder?" The dark haired woman said waking towards them.

Drake stood his ground. "I am neither. The Gray Wardens once owned this tower."

The woman chuckled. "'Tis a tower no longer. The Wilds have obviously claimed this desiccated corpse. I have watched your progress for some time. "Where do they go," I wondered, "why are they here?" She said walking past them and up to the edge of a hill outside of the tower.

Alistair came up to him. "Don't answer her. She looks Chasind, and that means others may be nearby."

He had no idea what this 'Chasind' meant, but he could definitely feel that it would not be wise to underestimate this woman.

"Ohh, you fear barbarian's will swoop down upon you." The woman taunted Alistair.

"Right, swooping is bad." Alistair said slowly.

The dark haired woman shook her head. "You there." She said pointing at him. "Elves are not frightened little boys. Tell me your name and I shall tell you mine."

He saw no reason to be uncivil to this woman, and he did not want to get on her bad side. "I am Drake," he said touching a hand to his forehead in greeting, "may I have the pleasure of knowing yours?"

The woman seemed shocked. "Now that is a proper civil greeting, even here in the Wilds. You may call me Morrigan. Shall I guess your purpose? You sought something in that chest, something that is here no longer?"

"'Here no longer?' You stile them, didn't you? You're…some kind of…sneaky…withc-thief!" Alistiar accused the woman.

How dumb could shems be? You did not anger a person who could use magic. "How very eloquent." Morrigan taunted back. "How does one steal from a dead men?"

"Quite easily it seems." Alistair said. "Those documents are Gray Warden's property, and I suggest you return them."

"I will not, for 'twas not I who removed them. Invoke a name that means nothing here any longer if you wish; I am not threatened."

Drake had enough of this banter. As Alistair was opening his mouth again, he interjected. "Then who removed them for here?"

Morrigan turned her attention back to him. "'Twas my mother, in fact."

"Can you take us to her perhaps?" He asked.

"There is a sensible request. I like you." Morrigan said with a smile.

"I'd be careful. First it's, "I like you…" but then 'Zap!' Frog time." Alistair said trying to get in one last jab.

The other two men had completely different reponses. Daveth was about to shake out of his boots. "She's a Witch of the Wilds I tell ya. She'll put us all in the pot, she will. Just you watch."

Jory was the last to speak. "If the pot's warmer than this forest, it'd be nice change."

Morrigan turned and walked down the hill. "Follow me, then, if it pleases you."

* * *

The Witch Morrigan led the elf and three humans through the wilds for another hour before they came upon a clearing. Surrounded by small swamps was a hut. As they got closer, an old woman walked out to great them.

"Greeting's, Mother." Morrigan greeted the old woman as they got closer. "I bring before you four Gray Wardens who-"

"I see them girl. Mmm. Much as I expected." The old woman said examining the four.

"Are we supposed to believe you were expecting us?" Alistair asked, lowering his hand towards his sword.

"You are required to do nothing, least of all believe. Shut one's eyes tight or open one's arms wide…wither way, one's a fool!"

Daveth was now shacking in uncontrollable fear. Where all shems such cowards? There is nothing to fear of a Witch, unless of course you anger them. "She's a witch, I tell you! We shouldn't be talking to her!"

"Quite, Daveth!" Jory said coming up and slapping the rouge on the back of the head. "If she's really a witch, do you want to make her mad?"

For once, Drake actually agreed with the Knight. "There is a smart lad. Sadly irrelevant to the larger scheme of things, but it is not I who decides. Believe what you will.

"And what of you?" The old woman asked walking up to him. "Does your elven mind five you a different viewpoint? What do you believe?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure what to believe. I don't care much for the beliefs of humans."

The old woman raised one of her eyebrows. "A statement that possesses more wisdom than it implies. Be always aware… or o sot oblivious? I can never remember. So much about you is uncertain… and yet I believe. Do I? Why, it seems I do?"

Alistair looked at the woman. "So this is a dreaded Witch of the Wilds?"

The old woman laughed. "Witch of the Wilds, eh? Morrigan must have told you that. She fancies such tales, though she would never admit it. Ho, how she dances under the moon!"

Morrigan cut off her mother's rant. "They did not come to listen to your wild tales, Mother."

"True, they came for their treaties, yes? And before you begin barking, your precious seal wore off long ago. I have protected these." The old woman walked back towards a chest.

"You… oh. You protected them?" Alistair said releasing the hilt of his sword.

"And why not?" The old witch said walking back to them with a couple of rolled up pieces of parchment. "Take them to your Gray Wardens and tell them this Blight's threat is greater than they realize."

Drake took the treaties from her and placed them carefully into his sack. "Thank you for protecting these, and returning them. But what do you mean by the threat is greater than we realize?"

"Such manners! Always in the last place you look. Like stockings! And either a threat is greater, or less than what someone realizes. But oh, do not mind me. You have what you came for!"

Morrigan came forward. "Time for you to go, then."

The old woman smack the young girl. "Do not be ridiculous, girl. These are your guests. Show them the way back."

Morrigan rubbed the spot her mother hit her. "Oh, very well. I will show you out of the woods. Follow me."

The three humans were eager to leave, but Drake stayed behind a moment. "Thank you once again Asha'belannar. For protecting and returning these treaties."

If his comment startled the old woman, she didn't show it. Instead she threw her head back and laughed. "I knew that your elvan mind was quick. Keep your witts about you elf. You will need all the skills you have in the near future."

* * *

Arriving back in the camp, the three humans just about collapsed. "I don't think I have ever walked that far in my life. And what was up with that black haired bitch. You think she could've been more civil to us, rather than the knife-ear." Jory said leaning against the wall trying to catch his breath.

All the way back from the Asha'belannar hut, the three humans had tried to talked to Morrigan, but she would always comment back with a sly remark. However, every time that he talked to her, she was quiet civil with him. Once the camp was in view however, she just simply disappeared.

"We need to see Duncan now," Alistair said walking forward, "he will need the vials that we collected for the Joining."

Drake started to walk towards the Kennels. "I'll meet up with you all there. I need to take care of something first."

Before the humans could responded, he had already walked off. Coming around the kennel, he saw the Kennel Master still treating the same mabari. Seeing him walk up, the Master came up to him. "The mabari is stable for now, but not improving. Unless I get that herb I told you about, there's not much hope."

Drake reached into his pack and pulled out the piece of cloth. Unwrapping it, he removed the flower. "Is this the flower you're looking for?"

The Kennel master reached for the flower. "Let me see…yes that's exactly it, wonderful! Give me a moment and I'll make this into an ointment."

For the next few minutes, he ground the flower up and put the grounded flower into a flask. "Can I get you to come in and hold the mabari. You don't need to hold him too closely, just enough to give him comfort."

He walked into the cage and knelt down next to the mabari. Lifting its head up, he ran his hand lightly across the creature's neck. The dog looked up at him. Its eyes held wisdom beyond what Drake had previously believed and animal could have.

After applying the poultice to the wound, the Kennel master helped him up. "He looks better already. I'm sure he'd thank you himself, if he could."

Drake looked back at the cage regretfully. "What will happen to him now?"

The human shrugged. "Let's give him a day or two to recover. Why not come back after the battle? Perhaps we can see about imprinting him on you."

Drake felt a surge of hope. "You think that's possible? You mean that he will follow me if he does this imprinting?"

"Maybe. It's likely he understands you're responsible for curing him. Mabari are at least as smart as your average tax collector. Come back after the battle and just… take another look."

"Thank you." Drake said bowing to the Kennel master.

"No no. I should be the one thanking you Warden. And I am sure that your friend here will thank you too soon."

Looking around the campground, he found Duncan along with the rest of the recruits standing around a fire. Walking up to them, Duncan was the first to acknowledge his presence. "So you return from your quest. Have you been successful?

"Yes I have Commander."

"Good, I've had the Circle mages preparing. With the blood you've retrieved, we can begin the Joining immediately."

"We should tell you about someone that we met in the forest Commander."Drake said. "Her name was Morrigan, and she lived in the Wilds with her mother."

Alistair took over from there. "We met this, Morrigan, at the tower and her mother had the scrolls. They were both very… odd."

"Were they wilder folk?" The Commander asked.

Alistair shook his head. "I don't think so. They might be apostates: mages hiding from the Chantry."

"I know you were once a templar, Alistair, but Chantry business is not ours. We have the scrolls; let us focus on the Joining."

"I am ready." Drake said without waiting. In truth, he did not have a choice in the matter. It was either die, or Join. Not much of a choice. Soon after, both Jory and Daveth nodded their agreement.

"Excellent." Duncan said looking at his recruits. "You will need that courage to face what comes next."

"Courage?" Daveth asked the fear creeping back into his voice. "How much danger are we in?"

"I will not lie; we Gray Wardens pay a heavy price to become what we are. Fate may decree that you pay your price now rather than later."

"I have no problem facing what is to come." Drake said.

"I agree with the elf. Let's have it done." The knight added.

"Then let us begin. Alistair, take them to the old temple."

Arriving at the old temple where he first found Alistair, he saw Daveth and Jory arguing. The Knight was pacing back and forth, waving his hands around.

"The more I hear about this Joining, the less I like it." He heard the Knight say once he got close enough to hear them.

Daveth sighed. "Are you blubbering about this again? Why don't you give it up?"

"Why all these damned tests?" The knight asked jabbing Daveth in the chest with his finger. "Have I not earned my place among the Wardens?"

Daveth lifted his hands. "Maybe it's tradition. Maybe they're just trying to annoy you."

Drake had enough of this annoying human. "Are all humans such cowards? What comes will come, and there is nothing we can do to change this."

Jory walked up to him. "Listen here knife-ear. I am no coward. I only know that my wife is in Highever with a child on the way. If they had warned me… it just doesn't seem fair."

"You want to talk about life not being fair? You stupid shemlen. I lost my best friend before and nearly died before Duncan found me. And now I carry the darkspawn curse."

"So that is why you were chosen then." The Knight said arrogantly pointing his finger at his chest. "The Commander felt bad for you, so he offered you a place."

"I've warned you before shemlen, you insult me again and I will cut you down. Gray Warden or not." Drake replied.

"Would you have come if they'd warned you Ser Knight?" Daveth asked stepping between the two. "Maybe that's why they don't. The Wardens do what they must, right?"

" Including sacrificing us?" The knight asked crossing his arms.

"I'd sacrifice a lot more if I knew it would end the Blight." Daveth answered.

"You make a good point. These creatures need to be stopped. And the Gray Wardens are the first line against them. Such as it has always been. Or have you forgotten that shemlen." Drake said.

"You saw those darkspawn, ser knight. Wouldn't you die to protect your pretty wife from them?" Daveth asked.

Jory stuttered to fine the words. "I…"

Not allowing him to continue, Daveth pressed onwards. "Maybe you'll die. Maybe we'll all die. If nobody stops the darkspawn, we'll die for sure."

"I've just never faced a foe I could not engage with my blade." Jory said ending the conversation.

Drake was about to say something. But Duncan walking into the temple with Alistair forced him to keep his comment to himself. Coming up to the altar, Duncan set a large chalice with some red liquid on it, and faced the three recruits.

"At last we come to the Joining. The Gray Wardens were founded during the first blight, while the world was on the edge of destruction. It was the first Gray Wardens who drank of drakspawn blood, and mastered their taint."

Jory's face turned ashen, and a suspicion started to well up inside Drake. "Were going to drink the blood of those creatures?" Jory asked.

Duncan just looked at the recruits and nodded. "Just as the first Gray Wardens did, just as we did before you. This is the source of our power, and our victory."

Alistair stepped forward and spoke. "Those who survive the Joining become immune to the taint of the darkspawn. We can use it to sense the darkspawn and the archdemon. "

Drakes suspicion was now confirmed. This is why there were so many test to become a Gray Warden. "Those who survive? Not all who take the Joining will survive then?"

Duncan slowly shook his head. "Not all who drink the blood will survive and those who do are forever changed. This is why the Joining is a secret. It is the price we pay. We speak only a few words prior to the Joining, but these words have been said since the first. Alistair if you would?"

Alistair lowered his head. "Join us brother's sister's, join us in the shadows as we stand vigil, join us with the duty that is forsworn. And know that should you perish know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten, and that one day, we shall join you."

With the oath finished, Duncan turned his back on the recruits and grabbed the chalice. Turning back to them, he held it out for Daveth. "Daveth, step forward."

Daveth took the chalice from Duncan. Before he raised it to his lips however, he turned to Drake and Jory. "Be seeing you soon, brothers."

Lifting the chalice to his lips, he took a long drink of the darkspawn blood. Duncan took the the chalice back from him, and everyone stepped back. Daveth seemed fine for a moment, but suddenly he let out a low yell and grabbed his head as if he were in pain. Throwing his head back, Drake could see that his eyes had turned completely white.

For a moment, it looked like he was going to right himself, but then he started to choke, and he fell to the ground. Duncan looked over Daveths withering form with a profound sadness in his eyes. "I am sorry Daveth." Was all that he said.

Once Daveth had stopped moving on the ground Duncan turned to Jory. "Jory step forward."

Jory however was starting to back up. Drawing his sword he faced the three men. "No, you ask too much. I have a wife and a child. There is no glory in this."

Duncan however drew his dagger and faced the man. "There is no turning back."

The fight was short and ugly. Easily, Duncan parried the long sowrd and stepped in, slamming his sword into Jory's gut. "I am sorry Jory, but the Joining is not yet complete."

Drake watched calmly as the life slowly slipped away from Jory. Looking to Duncan, the Warden Commander handed him the chalice. "You are called upon to submit yourself to the taint for the greater good. From this moment on, you are a Gray Warden."

Knowing that he had nothing to lose and everything to gain, he drank deeply on the blood. The iron taste of it almost made him want to spit it back out, but me managed to swallow it and hand the cup back to Duncan. For a moment he felt nothing; then the pain hit him. The last thing he remembers was seeing Duncan and Alistair run over to him.

**Well, there you go. Another chapter complete. I must say that this undertaking is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be, but I am going to keep on moving through. Please reviews, I always enjoy your comments, as long as y'all keep it civil. Well, see ya in the next chapter.**


	7. The Battle

**Okay, I'm back. Sorry for the no update in a long time, but full time work then full time school kinda takes the creative juices out of ya. I am not going to say when the next chapter is going to come on, because I never seem to meet the deadline. Hopefully, I will not have as long as break in chapters from now on. Anyway, lets get on with the story.**

**Chapter 7**

Drake had never experienced pain such as this before. Being near the mirror was one thing, and this completely out did that pain. Worse of all was the vision that he had. A giant dark dragon, that seemed to be almost giving the darkspawn orders.

The next he knew, he was opening his eyes to see Duncan and Alistair standing above him. Duncan was the first to break the silence. "It is finished. Welcome brother to the Gray Wardens."

Alistair reached down to give him a hand in standing. Coming to his full height, he still had to lean on Alistair for support for a minute. "Two more death's." Alistair said gaining his attention. "In my Joining only one of us died, but it was, horrible. I'm glad at least one of you made it through."

"How do you feel?" Duncan asked looking him over.

Drake took a quick look over himself. "Everything seems to be in order. Nothing you said could have prepared me for that. The pain was terrible."

Duncan simply shrugged his shoulders. "Such is what it takes to be a Gray Warden."

"Did you have dreams?" Alistair asked making him stop all movement. "I had terrible dreams after my Joining."

"Yes I did," Drake said looking at the two Wardens. "I dream of the darkspawn. There were thousands of them it seemed."

Duncan clapped him on the back. "Such dreams come when you begin to sense the darkspawn, as we all do. That and many other things can be explained in the months to come."

"Before I forget, there is one last part to your Joining." Alistair said. Reaching his hand out, he held a medallion of sorts out to him. "We take some of that blood and put it in a pendant. Something to remind us…of those who didn't make it this far."

Drake could understand this. It was good to honor the memories of the dead.

"Take some time. When you are ready, I'd like you to accompany me to a meeting with the King."

Drake starred at the elder Warden. "What kind of meeting? And why would the King want me to attend. I have no dealings with humans."

Duncan gave him a clod look. "The king is discussing strategy for the upcoming battle. I am not sure why he has requested your presence. The meeting is to the west, down the stairs. Please attend as soon as you are able. And also remember to mind your manners when speaking to the King."

Drake lowered his head. "As you wish Duncan."  
With that Duncan left the two. "Well," Alistair said stretching his arms above his head. "I'm heading down to the fire. I'll see you after your meeting." And with that, Alistair left him alone.

Drake looked over the grounds and saw the bodies of Jory and Daveth being collected by two men. "Hold for a moment please." Drake called out to the two men who stopped.

Walking over to the two men he knelt down next to each of them. Placing his hand over each of their eyes, he said a quiet prayer of passing to the old gods of the Dalish. Once he was done he stood to the stares of the two men. "Even if we do not share the same beliefs, it is good to give a recently deceased a blessing of passing. So their souls may find the next world."

Turning his back on the two men, he headed through the ruins to the area where this meeting was supposed to be happening.

* * *

Approaching the table with several men and a couple of women around it, he saw that the human king was arguing with another dark haired human. "Loghain, my decision is final," the human king said, "I will stand by the Gray Wardens in this assault."

"I must object to this your majesty." The dark haired human said, "You place yourself in too much danger."

The king shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps then we should wait for the Orlaissian forces to join us then? I have gotten a letter from the Empress saying that her men are ready to ride out and can join with us soon."

Following Duncan around the table, he stood by the elder Warden and watched the argument in front of him. The dark haired human was starting to become agitated. "I must also protest to your foul notion that we need the Orlesians in order to help defend ourselves. We drove those bastards out long ago, and I will not stand to see them in our boarders again so soon."

Leaning close to Duncan he spoke in a low voice. "Who is the human who is talking to the king right now?"

"-Duncan are your men ready?"

Drake turned his attention back to the human lord as he addressed Duncan.

Duncan nodded to the king, "They are your majesty."

Calian then turned his attention to Drake. "And this is the recruit that I met earlier on the road. I understand that congratulations are in order."

Drake did not feel like he deserved such congratulations. He did this mainly so that he could survive. But he remembered what Duncan had said earlier. The king was one of the few allies that the Wardens had here in Ferelden. "Thank you your majesty. I will try and live up to the honor that has been given to me."

"Every Gray Warden is needed now. You should be honored to join their ranks." The king said with a smile on his face.

The human, Loghain came up to the table. "Your fascination with glory and legends will be your undoing, Cailan. We must attend to reality."

Calian looked crossly at Loghain. "Very well then, speak your strategies." The king bent over a map and started to point at it. "The Gray Wardens and I will lure the darkspawn in, and then?"

Loghain placed his hands on the table. "You will light the signal fire, signaling-"

"Signaling you to flank the darkspawn." The king said finishing for him, "Yes I remember. The Tower of Ishal. What men do we have stationed at the tower?"

Loghain waved his hand. "I have a few men stationed there, it is not a dangerous job, but it is vital."

Calian looked at the map some more, then stood up. "Then we should leave nothing to chance. Duncan, I want you to send Alistair and the new Gray Warden to the tower."

Drake could understand this. If the tower was so vital in a battle with the darkspawn, then it would need to be guarded. But he could do this by himself; others would just slow him down. "If it is not dangerous, I can do it by myself." He told the king.

Calian though shook his head. "No, it's best that you both go. Two will be much better than one in this case."

"Very well, King Calian." Drake said bowing slightly. And with that, both he and Duncan left the table as a mage and what Drake could only assume was a chantry priestess walk up to the table. Perfect time to leave.

Finding Alistair near the fire Drake walked up to him. "So," Alistair said as Drake approached, "how was the meeting, as boring as it looked?"

"Pretty much, your human King has a fascination with glory and killing darkspawn, and this Loghain looks like he is about at wits end with dealing with him." Drake answered.

"So, what's the plan for the battle, we going to be down on the field with the rest of the Wardens?"

"Well, about that, the King has a new plan for the two of us." As Drake launched into his explaination of what the King wanted them to do, Drake was amazed at himself. Here he was, a Dalish Elf, keepers of the Lost Lore, talking calmly and friendly with a human. Humans were to be their enimes, they had never gotten along. Perhaps what Duncan had said was true. Once you became a Warden, it is who you are. What you were before ceases to exist.

After telling Alistair the plan for the battle, the two Wardens noticed their commander coming towards them. "You told Alistair the plan then yes?" Duncan asked and waited for his confirming nod before he continued. "Good, then you and Alistair will go to the tower of Ishal and ensure the beacon is lit.

Alistair immediately protested. "What? I won't be in the battle?"

Duncan shook his head. "This is by the king's personal request, Alistair. If the beacon is not lit, Teryn Loghain's men won't know when to charge. And if that does not happen, we will all die."

Alistair huffed. "So he needs two Wardens standing up there holding the torch. Just in case, right?"

Drake could understand his companion's complaint, but now was not the time to argue. In his clan everyone had a task to do, some may not be as heroic or important as others, but all tasks needed to be done, and one did not complain which task they were assigned. "Where exactly is this Tower of Ishal?"

Duncan pointed towards the way the came into the ruins. "The tower is on the other side of the gorge from the king's camp, the way we came when we arrived. You'll head through the gate and up to the tower entrance. From the top, you'll overlook the entire valley."

"When are we to light the beacon?"

"We will signal you when the time is right. Alistair will know what to look for."

"How much time will we have once the battle starts to light the beacon?"

"You must make haste; you will have less than one hour to light the beacon."

"And what if the archdemon appears?"

Alistiar chuckled. "We soil our drawer, that's what."

"If it does," Duncan cut in, "leave it to us. By that I mean the elder Wardens. I want no heroics from either of you. "

"Very well then Duncan, I know what we have to do. Are we to join the battle once the beacon is lit?"

"No, stay in the tower with the guards. Once the battle is over, then I will come and find you. If that is all then I must join the others. From here, you two are on your own. Remember, you are both Gray Wardens. I expect you to be worthy of that title."

Drake crossed his arms over his chest and bowed. "Duncan may the Maker watch over you." Alistair called out as Duncan was leaving.

Duncan looked back at the two and gave them a small smile. "May he watch over us all. Alistair, Drake, be on your guard."

And with that the Warden Commander left for the front lines.

* * *

From his vantage point next to Alistair, Drake looked out aver the land. Below them, the whole of the Gray Wardens of Ferelden stood waiting for the darkspawn to approach.

"Do you think this plan will work?" Alistair asked from his left.

"Possibly, but the whole of the Gray Wardens relies of this Loghain to make his move. I don't care for placing all of the hopes for victory on one move. Something doesn't sit right with me when it comes to that man."

"There is no need to worry my friend," Alistair said clapping him on the back, "Teryn Loghain is a hero of Ferelden. And he is father-in-law to the King. He will not leave us to die. He will come."

Soon enough, the forest below the two began to glow a dull orange color. "There here," was all the Alistair said.

Watching the grounds, Drake watched as first dozens, then hundreds, then prehpas thousands of darkspawn emerge from the forest and began their march towards the Gray Wardens. '_By the gods,'_ he thought, '_how can there be this many?'_

The creatures held their position for a moment, and then they broke loose, and charged at the Wardens.

The Wardens, to their credit, didn't move. A line of archers formed at the front, and once the darkspawn where in range, they let loose a volley, hitting the front line of the charging darkspawn. Next, the Wardens released the hounds and let them slow the darkspawn charge.

"FOR FERELDEN!"

When the call went out, the Wardens charged at the darkspawn, cutting into their ranks. "Come on," Alistair said hitting him on the shoulder, "we have to move now, or we will not make it to the tower in time."

Getting to the tower however, proved to be much more difficult than either of the two thought. The darkspawn were firing arrows, and launching balls of fire onto the bridge that they had to dodge.

Once they crossed the bridge, they ran into a mage and a guard who were running out from the tower. The mage spotted them first and ran over to them. "You…you're GW aren't you? You've got to help us. The tower, it has been taken."

"Calm down man," Alistair yelled at the shaken mage, "taken how? What do you mean?"

The shem in armor spoke next. "Darkspawn, they came up from beneath the tower and killed everyone inside. They are all over the tower; the few survivors are outside, trying to get back in."

Drake grabbed his bow and notched an arrow as he began to walk towards the tower. "Well, I guess that we have our work cut out for us then."

"Are you crazy?" The knight yelled, "The tower has fallen, there is no way that we could get it back."

Drake calmly spun, pulled back on the arrow, and faced the knight. "If we don't get to the top of the tower, the Wardens, and you King will die. We need your help, and if you want to run away, I may as well kill you and save the darkspawn the trouble of doing it."

The knight gave in and nodded. "We can enter the tower up ahead," the mage said pointing the way, "but it is heavily guarded."

"Well then," Alistair said drawing his sword, "guess we are not out of the fighting just yet."

* * *

The tower was an absolute mess. Darkspawn had roomed all the corridors and they had laid several traps. They had run into several emissaries, which had to be taken out either by Drakes bow, or by the mages magic.

At one point, they had reached where the mabari hounds were kept. Deciding that they needed all the help they could get, Drake opened the cages, and let the hounds out.

The hounds went to work immediately, jumping onto the darkspawn and sinking their teeth into the soft tissue of the darkspawn.

By the time that they reached the top of the tower, Drake had thought that he had seen everything there was to see, and that nothing could surprise him any more. He was wrong. Upon coming onto the top floor, himself along with everyone else in their makeup group slid to a halt.

A large creature, Drake had no idea what it was, was hunched over crewing on something. "Oh Maker," he heard the knight say, "it's an Ogre."

Apparently, that was all that was needed for the creature to notice their presence. Turning towards them, it threw its meal away and howled at them. Drawing his weapons he was ready to charge it, before Alistair's voice stopped him. "Don't charge directly at it. Spread out and hit its flanks."

Deciding to head Alistair's advice, he moved off to one side with the knight behind him. The mage went with Alistair as he circled around the other direction. The ogre looked at the two groups for a second, and then charged after Drake and the guard.

Drake moved swiftly, rolling out of the creatures charge, he slashed at the ogre hitting it on the arms and legs. The guard behind his however, was not so lucky. After releasing his first bolt, the guard tried to reload the crossbow, but the creature caught him first. Reaching out, the ogre caught the knight in his fist and lifted him up.

"OH MAKER, HELP ME PLEASE!" The man screamed in terror. Before any of the three could do anything, the ogre pulled back its fist, and slammed it forward, snapping the knight's head clean off his shoulders.

Seeing that the man was dead, the ogre threw the dead body away, and then looked aroud to find its next victim. "No no no no no, I can't be here, this can't be happening, this wasn't suppose to be happening this way. I'm getting out of here." But the mage would never leave, after taking no more than a dozen steps, the ogre caught up to him and grabbed him. This time Drake sprang into action.

Slicing down on the creatures arm, he saw Alistair do the same from the other side. With cuts on both its arm's, the giant creature dropped the mage and backed up screaming. Drake and Alistair went to the mages side, but the vacant eyes of the mage indicated that they were too late to save the poor man.

Feeling a huge rush coming through him, Drake picked up both his sword Dalish sword and knife. "Drake don't charge it, it'll-"Alistair called out to him, but it was too late for Drake to stop now.

Right as the creature reached for him, Drake pushed off the ground as hard as he could, jumping up and over the creatures outstretched arm, and slammed both his dagger and sword down into the ogre's chest.

Crying out in pain, the ogre fall backwards from the force of the hit, and lay flat against the ground with Drake still attached to it's chest. "DIE YOU WRETCHED CREATURE!" Drake yelled as he pulled out his sword and dagger, only to slam them both back into the creature's neck.

The Ogre gave one final reach for him. Twisting his blades in the neck, the ogre gave a final shudder, and stopped moving. Standing up slowly, Drake pulled his blades out, waiting for the creature to try and move again.

"Well," Alistair said moving up towards him, "I would say that you are getting the hang of being in the Wardens. Come on, the beacon is over there, it needs to be lit immediately."

The two Wardens walked over to a fire place with several torches around it. Pulling out one of the torches Drake looked at the pile of tinder before throwing the torch on. "I hope that this Loghain is as honorable as you say Alistair." And with that he threw the torch on, the fire sprung to life and shot out the top of the tower.

* * *

Loghain stood in front of his men watching the battle before him. In truth it was not much of a battle, the Gray Wardens were starting to be over run. _'So much for their legendary power against the darkspawn._'

"My Lord," Sir. Cauthrien said beside him, "the Wardens had lit the becan."

Loghain looked up at the tower. There was fire coming out from the very top of the tower. "Sound, the retreat." He said without emotion.

"But, my lord, what about the King, surely we should not-"

"Do as I command." He said grabbing her arm and looking her in the eye.

She hesitated for only a moment, before she shook off his arm and walked over to the the rest of the men. Waving her hand in the air she called for the retreat.

Loghain looked over the field on last time. _'I will never allow you to let those Orlesian bastards back into this land. Even if you are Marc's son. Have glory Calian. It will be your last._ And with that thought in mind, the Hero of Ferelden, and General of the armies turned his back on his king and the Gray Wardens and left them to be slaughtered, never once feeling an ounce of regret.

* * *

Duncan slashed darkspawn after darkspawn, circuling around King Calian. _'Where is Loghain,_' he thought, '_we will not be able to hold on very much longer without him._'

Just then he felt a strong presence, coming towards them fast from behind. Turning to face the darkspawn, he was met immediately with the fist of an ogre, and sent flying across the ground.

Trying to pick himself up off the ground, he looked up just in time to see the ogre crush King Calian in its fist, before throwing the now dead King over to where he lay. _'I have failed_,' Duncan thought looking at the dead king.

'_But I can still avenge him._' Duncan thought picking up his dagger and sword and rushing at the darkspawn.

Jumping up onto the ogre, he sunk his sword and dagger into the chest of the ogre all the way to the hilt. Removing the dagger he plunged it back into the ogre slightly higher than his first strike. Then he pulled his sword out and did the same thing.

Falling with the ogre to the ground he sat up, only to feel the extreme pain in his side where the ogre had hit him. Leaving his sword and dagger where they were, he rushed over the the dead king. Falling to his knees he placed a hand on the back of the young king's head. _'I am sorry, your majesty. I have failed you and Ferelden. We couldn't hold until Loghain got here._'

Looking up to the tower, he expected to find it still dark, but instead he saw the the tower was burning brightly. But then, where were Loghain and his men? Could they have been betrayed? It was true that Loghain was extremely against Orlesain support, but to kill the king over such a thing?

His men were dying, the Wardens were being over run and slaughtered by the very creatures they were sworn to kill. Looking up to the tower one last time, he was glad that he had sent Alistair and Drake up there. The order would have to survive with those two. _'I leave it in your hands now._' Duncan thought as he looked up.

Feeling another strong presence near, Duncan turned to find a darkspawn general rush towards him, axe raised in the air. '_My friends, my brothers, my sisters. Farewell.'_

* * *

"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO WHAT IS HE THINKING!"

Hearing Alistair's shout, Drake ran over to the window, just in time to see Loghains men start to leave the field. _The gods help us, I hate it when I'm right._

A strange feeling then crept into his neck. A sudden wave of nausea overcame him, and too late he realized what it was. Drawing his blades he spun to face the entrance to the floor.

The last thing he remembered was getting two arrows through his chest, and then hitting the ground hard.

**Well, there we go, the battle is over and the Wardens now set out on their journey. I plan for the next chapter to be a long one, cause I want to go all the way through Lothering in one chapter, so it might take a little bit for it to come out. Please review, you comments help give me the incentive to keep on writing. **


	8. The New Companions

**Chapter 8**

Drake opened his eyes slowly. _I'm alive? How is that possible? The darkspawn had us over run. Loghain that bastard._

Slowly starting to come too, he placed his arms underneath himself and pushed up. "Ah, I see your eyes finally open. Mother shall be pleased."

_That voice, _he thought, _where have I heard that voice before?_ Opening his eye's, he saw the woman from the wilds standing before him. It was then that he realized that he was dressed in nothing but his small cloths.

"I remember you, the woman from the Wilds. Wait, where am I, the last I remember I was at the top of the tower. And where are my clothes?"

The woman crossed her arms over her chest. "I am Morrigan, lest you have forgotten, and I have just bandaged your wounds, which is why you have no cloths at the moment. You are welcome for that, by the way. And you are back in the Wilds. Do you remember Mother's rescue?"

Drake rubbed his head as the memories slowly came to him. "I remember being overwhelmed by darkspawn…then, something grabbed me. That is all that I remember."

"Mother managed to save you and your friend, though 'twas a close call. What is important is that you both live. The man who was to respond to your signal quit the field. The darkspawn won your battle. Those he abandoned were massacred. Your friend…he is not taking it well."

_Friend, who is she talking about?_ "Are you talking about Alistair?"

The dark haired woman nodded. "The suspicious dimwitted one? Yes that is the one. Mother rescued him also."

Drake worked up enough strength and moved his legs off the bed, but did not stand. Morrigan handed him some cloths that he could put on. His Dalish leather armor was included in the bundle. "What happened to the Gray Wardens? And the King? Are there any still alive?" Drake asked as he pulled on his cloths.

"All dead," Morrigan said without emotion, "your friend has veered between denial and grief since Mother told him. He is outside by the fire. Mother asked to see you when you awoke."

"Why does your mother want to see me?" Drake asked lacing up his boots.

Morrigan just shook her head again. "I do not know. She rarely tells me her plans."

With all of his cloths on, he pulled the leather armor on. "Were my injuries severe? I remember getting some pretty bad wounds on the battle through the tower."

A quick nod of the head. "Yes, but I expect you shall be fine. The darkspawn did nothing mother could not heal."

Pulling on his leather gauntlets, he was turned to face the woman. "What about Alistair? He was hurt pretty bad too, will he be alright?"

She hesitated this time. "He is…as you are. I suppose it would be unkind to say he is being childish about this whole affair."

Drake gave her a hard look. "Very unkind. Those were his friends and brethren back there. And they were all left to be the fodder for the darkspawn."

Morrigan got into a defensive stance. "And you think they would encourage his blubbering? If so, they are not the sort of Gray Wardens the legends note."

After lacing up his boots, he walked towards the door. "Thank you for helping me Morrigan."

"I, you are welcome, though Mother did most of the work. I am not healer."

It was obvious that this woman was not use to receiving complements. "I think it is time I go and see your mother."

Morrigan nodded her consent. "I will stay and make something to eat. T'will not be much. But tis better than nothing."

_

* * *

The Wilds, they are undisturbed._ Was the first thought that went through his head as he stepped outside of the hut. There were thousands of darkspawn in this forest, yet for some reason, none of them touched this place. Alistair was staring off into the woods, so he did not notice Drake's arrival until the old woman brought it too his attention.

"See? Here is your fellow Grey Warden. You worry too much, young man," the old woman said drawing Alistair's attention.

Alistair blinked a few times before finally resting a hand on his shoulder. "You…you're alive! I thought you were dad for sure."

"I'm not, thanks to Morrigan's mother." He said removing Alistairs hand from his shoulder.

"This doesn't seem real. If it weren't for Morrigan's mother, we'd be dead on top of that tower."

"Do not talk about me as if I am not present, lad." The old woman cut in.

Alistair realized his mistake and turned to address the old woman. "I didn't mean.. but what do we call you? You never told us your name."

The woman waved her hand as if to dismiss the question. "Names are pretty, but useless. The Chasind folk call me Flemeth. I suppose it will do."

Drake was expecting this, so he was not surprised by the old woman's name. Alistair however, had shock written all over his face. "The Flemeth from the legends? Daveth was right- you're the Witch of the Wilds aren't you?"

Flemeth shrugged. "And what does that mean? I know a bit of magic, and it has served you both well, has it not?"

"It has, and we cannot thank you enough for that. But if you're Flemeth, you must be very old and powerful." Drake said facing the old witch.

A small smile appeared on her face. "Oh, must I? Age and power are relative- it depends on who is asking. Compared to you, yes, on both counts."

"Then why didn't you save Duncan? He is…he was our leader." Alistair asked with desperation.

"I am sorry for your Duncan, but your grief must come later…in the dark shadows before you take vengeance, as my mother once said. Duty must come now. It has always been the Gray Wardens duty to unite the lands against the Blight. Or did that change when I wasn't looking?" Flemeth asked the both of them.

"No," Drake answered, "of course it has not. Even if the humans have betrayed us; there are others who will fight the darkspawn."

Alistair waved his hands around. "But we were fighting the darkspawn! The king had nearly defeated them! Why would Loghain do this?"

Flemeth pointed her finger at the young Warden. "Now that is a good question. Men's hearts hold shadows darker than any tainted creature. Perhaps he believes the Blight is an army he can outmaneuver. Perhaps he does not see that the evil behind it is the true threat."

Alistiar's face fell. "The archdemon."

Drake felt as though he was the only one who didn't know what was going on. "What is this archdemon, exactly?" He asked the two.

"It is said that, long ago, the Maker sent the Old Gods of the ancient Tevinter Imperium to slumber in prisons deep beneath the surface. An archdemon is an Old God, awakened and tainted by darkspawn. Believe that or not, history says it's a fearsome and immortal thing. And only fools ignore history." Flemeth explained to him.

"What could the Teyrn hope to gain by betraying the king? I never understood why you humans do these sorts of things." Drake asked Alistair.

"The throne?" Alistair shrugged. "He's the queen's father. Still, I can't see how he'll get away with murder."

The old woman laughed at him. "You speak as if he would be the first king to obtain his throne that way. Grow up boy!"

"If Arl Eamon knew what he did, he would never stand for it! The Landsmeet would never stand for it! There would be civil war!"

_Great, another human to get involved with_. "Who is this Arl Eamon? Is this someone important?"

"I suppose…Arl Eamon wasn't at Ostagar; he still has all his men. And he was Cailan's uncle. I know him he is a good man, respected in the Landsmeet. Of course! We could go to Redcliffe and appeal to him for help."

Drake didn't really like the idea of only rellying on the humans to fight this war. Right now, they were not making a very good show of it. "Surely there are other allies we could call on, besides just this Arl."

"Of course!" Alistair exclaimed slapping his hands together. "The treaties! Grey Wardens can demand aid from dwarves, elves, mages, and other places! They're obligated to help us during the Blight!"

Flemeth laughed again. "I may be old, but dwarves, elves, mages, this Arl Eamon, and who knows what else…this sounds like an army to me."

"So can we do this?" Alistair asked with new found eagerness. "Go to Redcliffe and these other places and…build an army?"

_Since when the Fade had I become the leader?_ Drake thought. "Why not? Isn't that what Grey Wardens do? Besides, I think that we are going to need as many friends as possible if we are going to win this fight."

"So you are set, then?" Flemeth said drawing their attention. "Are you both ready to be Grey Warden's again?"

Drake let the comment slide. "Yes we are. Thank you for everything you've done for us Flemeth."

"No, no, thank you. You are the Wardens here, not I. Now…before you go, there is yet one more thing I can offer you. Morrigan, get out here!"

A few moments later, Morrigan exited the hut. "The stew is bubbling Mother dear. Shall we have two guests for the eve or none?"

"The Gray Wardens are leaving shortly, girl. And you will be joining them."

Morrigan shook her head. "Such a shame-wait-what?"

"You heard me girl. The last time I checked you had ears!"

Drake could tell that Morrigan didn't want to travel with them, and he was not about to force her too. "Thank you for the offer Flemeth, but if Morrigan doesn't wish to join us, then I don't want to press her hand."

Flemeht though was having none of it. "Her magic will be useful. Even better she knows the Wilds and how to get past the horde. Do either of you two know your way out of here? I think not."

"Have I no say in this mother?"

"You have been itching to get out of the wilds for years." Flemeth reasoned. "Here is your chance. As for you, Gray Wardens, consider this repayment for your lives."

There was no way that they were going to win this one. "Very well, we'll take her with us." Drake said.

Alistair however, was not pleased. "Not to…look a gift horse in the mouth, but won't this add to our problems? Once we're out of the Wilds, she's and apostate. And she will be drawing a lot of attention to us. Unwanted attention."

Flemeth gave him a level look. "If you do not wish help from us illegal mages, young man, perhaps I should have left you one that tower."

The ex-Templar lifted his hand to retort, but then lowered it. "Point taken."

"Mother…this is not how I wanted this. I am not even ready—"

"You must be ready girl. Alone, these two must unite Fereldon against the darkspawn. They need you, Morrigan. Without you, they will surely fail, and all will perish under the Blight. Even I."

The young witch hesitated for a second before nodding. "I…understand mother."

"And do you understand, Warden?" Flemeth said facing Drake. "Do you understand that I am giving you that which I valve above all in this world? I do this because you must succeed."

"She won't come to harm with us. We will protect her." Drake said hoping to pacify the old witch.

"Allow me to get my things, if you please." And with that, Morrigan turned and walked back into the hut.

A few minutes later, the young witch came out of the hut with a small pack on her back. "I am at your disposal, Gray Warden. I suggest a village north of the Wilds as our first destination. 'Tis not far and you will find much you need there. Or, if you prefer, I shall be simply your silent guide. The choice is yours."

"No, I prefer you to speak your mind." Drake said tyring to be friendly with their newest member.

"You will regret saying that." The old witch laughed.

"Dear, sweet mother," Morrigan said sarcastically, "you are so kind to cast me out like this. How fondly I shall remember this moment."

"Well, I always said if you want something done, do it yourself, or hear about it for a decade or two afterwards."

Alistair turned to Drake. "I just…do you really want to take her along because her mother says so?"

Drake couldn't believe how short sighted his friend was. Are all humans this bad? "We need all the help we can get Alistair. It doesn't matter what form it comes in."

The ex-Templar sighed. "I guess you're right. The Gray Wardens have always taken in allies where they could find them."

Morrigan placed a hand on Alistair's cheek. "I am so pleased to have your approval. Perhaps later I can give you another reason to keep me around?"

"Enough you two." Drake said stepping between the two. "I think we should get underway. We don't want to be out around dark with the darkspawn still on out heels."

"Farewell, Mother." Morrigan said turning to her mother, "do not forget the stew on the fire. I would hate to return to a burned-down hut."

"Bah. 'Tis far more likely you will return to see this entire area, along with my hut, swallowed up by the Blight." Drake was seriously considering the fact that this old woman may have gone a bit soft in the head after all these years.

"I…all I meant was…" Morrigan stumbled.

"Yes, I know. Do try to have fun, dear." Flemeth said with a small smile, "now go, the day is wasting and your new elf friend was correct. You don't want to be here around night fall."

With that, the trio turned and left the small hut and set out into the Wilds.

* * *

"Ouch, damn it, that hurt!"

Drake's patience was starting to run more than a little thin with his Warden friend. They had to travel for half a day before they even got out of the Wilds, and now they were on a small road heading north to the town that Morrigan had suggested. The only problem was, Alistair was extremely clumsy. He was either stubbing his toe, or falling over.

"You're most troublesome, my dear dimwitted friend. Have you ever walked before, or is this your first time trying?"

Morrignan was not helping either. Every time Alistair slowed them down, she made a jab with some comment or other. _Which god did I piss off to get stuck with these two?_ He wondered.

"Well, excuse me. But I am not the one who has to constantly stop to rearrange what little cloths I have on." Alistair said twisting his foot around.

"Oh, how witty. Did you think of that one all by yourself? You know, if you wanted to look, all that you had to do was ask, and I would show you. For a price ofcourse."

"Well, I am not-"

"Quiet, both of you." Drake cut in, motioning them both for silence.

A slight movement of the lower brush had caught his attention. Followed by the unmistakable feel of the taint could only mean one thing. Drawing his sword, he crouch down low and headed over to the brush to try and see what had made the noise.

Needless to say, he was extremely surprised when a brown blurr jumped out of the trees, landed on him, and then started to lick his face.

"It's a mabari," Alistair said coming over to him with the dog still pinning him to the ground, "I think that this is the one you helped heal back at the camp. He has more than likely imprinted on you. Mabari's are extremely smart like that."

The dog on top of him gave a bark as if to acknolwdge what Alistair had said, and then he got off of him, and faced down the road and growled.

Coming to his feet, he knelt down next to the dog. "Is there something there?" He asked quietly.

_-Growl-_

Further up the road, no less than a dozen darkspawn emerged from the brush on the side of the road. "Great, you know, just once I would like to have a nice walk down the street and not get into a fight," Alistarit said strapping on his shield and drawing his sword.

"Do we have a plan for this one?" Morrigan asked brining her staff forward.

"Yes," Drake said drawing his sword, "kill them all."

Lunging at the darkspawn, Drake slashed his sword, cutting one of them across the arm making him lose grip of his sword. Arcing his sword, he brought it down into the neck of another one of the creatures. _These creatures are pathetic; a mere Da'lan could kill them without a problem._

Sensing another one close by, he pivoted intent on arcing his sword around, only to feel it not move. Looking at his blade he saw that it was stuck in the armor of the pervious darkspawn.

_Shit!_

Turning back to the charging darkspawn he let go of his sword and tried to unsheathe his dagger. _Shit, this is bad._

The darkspawn's blade started its decesnt; then stopped as a brown mass rushed into the darkspawn and brought it to the ground. The mabari buried its fang's deep into the creatures neck before pulling back, ripping out its neck.

His admiration of the dog proved to be a mistake. Cold metal pierced into his back between the plates of his leather armor. Falling to his knees, he flung the dagger behind him. The sound of the darkspawn choking on his dagger told him he had hit the mark.

When the last of the darkspawn fell, Drake reached around and felt his back for where the balde had pierced him. "Let me do that."

Morrigan stood behind him with a determined look on her face. Nodding his constent, he moved so that the witch could shift his armor and see the wound.

"You know Drake; I honestly believe that is the first time I have ever seen you get hurt in a fight." Alistair observed.

"It is harder to hit a moving target. I prefer not to stand still when a fight begins." He explained as Morrigan inspected his back.

"This is not good; the wound is deep. I should be able to close the wound slightly, but not fully. You're going to have to take it easy for a day or so until the wound can close fully." Morrigan explained closely examining the wound on his back.

"And here I thought you were a witch of the wilds. Can't you do something, you know." He waved his hand for emphasis.

"My powers in healing magic are not as refined as some. But if you wish, I can make you believe that you are a blubbering idiot Alistair. Oh wait, someone already beat me too it."

The feel of the healing magic was akin to one getting dumped head first into a frozen lake. First it felt as if ice was shooting through your body, and then you lost your breath for a moment. Once Morrigan had done what she could she backed up from him and fixed the mabari with a stern look.

"So, I take it that this mangy mutt is the reason for the darkspawn finding us."

_-Whine_-

"He's not mangy. And more than likely he was out looking for Drake here. And if you recall, he was trying to warn us before the darkspawn showed up." Alistair said defending the dog.

Readjusting his armor, Drake knelt in front of the mabari. "You came looking for me, and tried to keep me safe, didn't you?"

The dog barked and spun around in a circle.

"You need a name don't you? I will call you Reth. In the language of the elves the word _Reth_ means safety. You keep us safe. Does this name please you?"

The dog's face split into a wide grin and he ran around in a few more circles. "You know, I heard the Dalish have an affinity for animals. But I never expected a human war dog to work so well with some that not only did not raise them, but also someone who is not human." Alistair was cleary awed by the presence of the mabrai.

"Well, this is all touching and everything, but I do believe that we best make haste to Lothering. Though I despise crowds, our Warden friend here needs time to rest." Morrigan said walking past the two wardens and continuing on the trail.

* * *

"Well well, look what we got here."

"Commander, didn't we ask all morning about an elf by this very description, and didn't everyone in the village tell us that they had never seen him."

"Ha, seems as if we were lied too."

Drake was beginning to wander which god he displeased so badly to have such a string of bad luck. From the incident with the mirror, to be forced to leave his clan, to watching all the Wardens being massicared, to being stabed in the back, to the bandits just outside of the town. And now here they were after just walking into a tavern and they were being confronted by four armed Shems.

"Loghains men," Alistair spat beside him, "this can't be good."

"You are all under arrest. Come with us and we may even let you live." The man in front demanded of the small group.

Drake was not about to be captured by these Shems. Reaching up and grasping his sword, he waited for these idiot Shems to make the first move.

The man in the lead smiled and put his hand on his sword. "Gentlemen, please. There is no need for violence here."

Drake and the lead Shem both turned to see who it was that interrupted them. A young human female with bright red hair stepped between the two men. Drake noticed that she was wearing a similar type of robe as those who where preaching at the camp in Ostagar. _Great, a Chantry sister. She won't be any help. But I cannot let her get hurt by standing between us._

"_Asha_, I have no desire to see you hurt, please stand aside." He said trying to convince the woman to move.

The woman turned to him. _Her eyes, _he thought, _they are not ones belonging to those people who where preaching about this human god. No, her eyes are that of a warrior. But more than that, her eyes are the ones that have seen great pain._

"I assume that you are talking to me," the woman said ignoring the soldiers, "I appreciate your concern for my well being, but you do not have to concern yourself over my safety."

"Enough of this," the human bellowed, "if you stand with them Sister, you will receive the same treatment. All men to arms kill this Gray Warden."

"Right, let's make this quick."

Drake's anger rose at the soldier's comment. Did he take them so lightly? There wasn't much room in the inn, so instead of drawing his sword like all the soldiers did, he simply drew his Dar'Misu. As the first man charged at him, he move to the side and ducked underneath the man's sword arm and slashed at the man as he passed.

The rest of the group seemed to be handling themselves well. Morrigan used her magic to keep the men back and away from her, while Alistair didn't bother to draw his sword, he used his shield to ram into the men. What surprised him the most however, was the grace with which the Chantry Sister moved. She slid, ducked, and moved almost as quickly as he did.

Reth's sharp bark was the only warning he had to get out of the way as a sword crashed down to where he had been standing. _By the Gods, that twice now! Why am I so distracted as of late?_ Seeing that man that just tried to kill him, Drake seized up his opportunity.

Lashing out with his leg, he hit the man squarely in the back his knee and caused him to collapse onto the ground. Before the man could recover, he stepped up behind him, pulled back on the mans hair and held his dagger to the man's throat.

"Enough! I yield!"

_How dare he beg for his life! He has no right to it after abandoning everyone at Ostagar._ "You deserve to die." He gritted out through clenched teeth.

"No. Don't kill him."

Feeling a soft touch on his sword arm, he was amazed to find the Chantry Sister staring him down. His gripe tightened on the dagger. "This, _shem_, left us all to die on the battlefield an ran like a coward that he is. What right does he have to live?"

The Sister never broke eye contact with him. "If you kill him, then you are no better than he his. No better than a normal human."

That struck a cord. Removing his knife from the man's back, he lifted his foot and planted it squarely into the center of his back. "Go now," he called out as the men gathered their things to run. "You go and tell Loghain that Wardens have survived the battle, and that we are coming for him."

The soldiers were stumbling over themselves as the tried to get out of the inn. On of them dropped a long sword, seeing that it was of an extremely fine quality, he decided to keep it. _At least those fools left something of worth. Worthless Shem's always throw away things of great value without realizing it._

"I'm sorry for interfering, but I couldn't just stand by and watch idly."

Drake looked the Sister over. She had blood all over her Chantry robes, but for some reason, she didn't seem to mind too much. "And what is your name Sister?"

She didn't seem put off by his attitude. He couldn't tell if she was brave or just naïve. By her actions in battle he assumed that she was brave. "My name is Leliana, a Lay Sister of the Chantry."

While Drake had no desire to stay any longer, he still felt the need to express his gratitude. "Thank you for your aid Sister, but I'm afraid that my companions and I must take our leave."

"You're Grey Wardens, aren't you? You are fighting against the darkspawn correct?"

Drake stopped cold at the sound of her voice. Turning back to her he leveled his gaze. "Yes, and your point is Sister? You think us traitors too?"

The Sister shook her head from side to side. "Don't be silly. I asked because if you are Grey Wardens, which I can tell that you are, then I am coming with you."

He saw Morrigan and Alistair stiffen behind him. "Not to sound callus Sister, but this is not the kind of trip I think you would enjoy going on. We are going to be fighting a lot." Alistair told her.

The Sister leveled her eyes at the ex-Templar. "I am not without my skills in battle, as I have shown you."

Drake had to admit that she was an excellent fighter, and more than that, they needed every ally that they could get. "Why would you want to come with us?" He asked.

The look the Sister gave him was troubled, but she shook it off quickly. "The Maker told me to do with you." She stated.

Drake looked back at his companions. Alistair raised on of his eyebrows and Morrigan let out a soft sigh. When he looked back at the Sister he was surprised to see fear in her eyes, but fear of what? Rejection on his part. "What makes you think your Maker has told you to come with us?"

The Sister took a deep breath before continuing. "I-had a vision. In my vision, the Maker gave me a sign, and I know that he wanted me to come with you."

Drake once again looked back at his two companions, both of whom shrugged. "As long as you make yourself useful, I have no problem with you coming with us. Just as long as you understand that this will not be an easy voyage Sister."

The Sister smiled, and he felt his heart freeze. "Thank you good sir, I promise you, you won't regret taking me in. And you can call me Leliana you know."

"Great, another crazy, and here I thought we were all full up." Alistair mocked.

"Perhaps your skull is more cracked than mother thought. When we stop tonight perhaps I will have to take a look at it again."

* * *

After leaving the tavern, the Drake led the group north out of the village, but just outside of the village he saw something that made him stop dead. A man, an extremely large man, was standing upright in a cage that look just big enough for him to stand in, but nothing more. _Now what are those fool Shem's up too?_

Approaching the cage the large man noticed them. "You are not one of my captors. You have no business with me."

_Standoffish. Even more so than many of my clansmen. Interesting._ "Are you a prisoner?"

"I am in a cage, am I not? By that I am a prisoner."

He was starting to like this giant. "Why are you a prisoner?"

"I can answer that." Lelian said stepping up. "He was arrested by the Chantry near Lake Calenhand. It was said that he killed an entire family."

The giant lowered his head with each word. "It is as she says. I am Sten of the Beresaad. The vanguard of the Qunari people."

"The vanguard?" Drake was not sure about some human words, but he did understand this one. "That means that you are a soldier."

The giant simply nodded his head again. "This is a proud and noble creature. To be left to starve or for the darkspawn 'tis not a fate he deserves. I would say let him go for pity's sake alone." Morrigan commented.

Alistair scoffed. "This coming from you? Not what I expected."

"I would then suggest that Alistair here take his place."

"Now that is more like it." Alistair noted dryly.

Drake turned around and looked at Leliana. "Leliana. You said that the Chantry arrested him. Is there any way that we can talk them into releasing him?"

The Sister bit her lip for a moment before nodding. "Yes. I'll take you to the Revered Mother here in Lothering. She is the only one who has the authority to release him. You're going to have to be very convincing for her to let him go."

He turned back to the Qunari. "If I release you, will you follow me against the Blight?"

Sten looked at him curiously. "The Blight, then you are a Grey Warden then?"

Drake was more than a little surprised to hear respect in the big man's voice. "Yes, that is correct."

Sten looked at him with more respect. "My people have heard stories about your oder."

"My question still stands though. If I release you, will you follow me against the Blight?"

Sten looked over each of his companions. "I doubt that I will be released. Leave me to my fate."

* * *

Inside of the Chantry they found whole families huddled together. Men and women bloodied and nursing wounds. _Survivors from Ostagar perhaps? No, theses are no soldiers. The darkspawn are starting to head north._

As they passed people, Alistair seemed to recognized someone. "Ser Donall, is that you?"

Alistair clasped hands with the man. "Ser Donall, it is good to see you again. But, what are you doing here?"

The man looked curiously at him. "What am I doing here? Alistair, you should be dead, or at least that is what Teryn Loghain would have us all believe. And as for what I'm doing, I'm on and errand for Arl Eamon. He sent us out to find the Urn of Sacred Ashes."

"The Urn of Sacred Ashes? Whatever for?" Leliana asked coming forward.

"You mean you all haven't heard? The Arl is sick, dying. The Teryna said that the only thing that can cure him is the Urn. She has half of the Knights of Redcliffe out searching for it." The Knight explained wavying his arms around.

"Hey Drake," Alistair said turning to him. "Can you leave us a moment, I wanna talk to him and don't you wanna talk to the Revered Mother about something?"

Drake could tell that this was something that was a little personal for Alistair. He nodded his head and looked back at the other three in his group. "Leliana, can you show me where this 'Revered Mother' is?"

Leliana led them back towards on of the rearmost rooms in the hall and brought him to an older woman. "Revered Mother," Leliana began. "This is Drake, of the Grey Wardens."

The Mother's gave him a frown. "You know that Teryn Loghain has branded you and your order as traitors to the crown."

Drake scoffed. "Traitors. That coming from a man who will abandon hundreds of men to slaughter doesn't mean anything to me."

The Revered Mothers sighed. "I heard those rumors too. Both are hard to believe, but you are not here to talk about rumors are you. What are you here for?"

_Surprising. A human that asks straight up questions instead of skidding around it._ "The Qunari out in the cage. I was told that you are the one who put him in there."

The Mother got up and started pacing. "It may have been kinder to put him to death, but I leave it in the Maker to decide his fate. Why? What interest is he to you?"

"I would wish him to be released into my care."

"Then his next victims could consider us among those who are guilty. But, Leliana, you know your friend here better than I do. What do you have to say about this?"

Leliana looked back and forth between him and the Mother. "These are…difficult times Mother. If there is another way…but I trust this man."

The Mother sighed. "If this wasn't a Blight. Very well, here take this key and release him. Take caution with that man. He killed a family without remorse; there is no telling what he could do."

Drake took the key from the Mother and had every intention of freeing Sten and getting out of this town. He was still unsettled by being around so many humans at one time. Before they could leave though, Leliana stopped him by placing her hand on his arm. "If you could. I would like to gather a few things from my room before we leave. I can meet you by the outskirts of the village if it makes you feel better."

Seeing no reason to deny her he gave her a nod and watched her run off. "'Tis not hard to leave her behind. We free the Qunari and leave; the girl would never be able to catch up to us if we leave now." Morrian said as the left the Mothers room.

Drake shook his head. Although he would be uneasy traveling with a several humans, let alone a human who was involve with the 'Chantry', he had given her his word. "I gave her my word Morrigan," he said simply. "Unlike most shems, I do not break my word for anything."

"I guess that means we have to take Alistair with us too then no? Then let us get him and get the prisoner. I am eager to leave this place. Too many Templar's are starting to look at me strangely."

* * *

Back out at the cage Drake unlocked the door and opened it for the giant. "So you have returned, and you have freed me."

"Yes," he said simply. "Now, will you follow me against the Blight."

It may have been a trick of the light, but he thought he saw the big man smile slightly. "Very well Warden. I shall follow you until you free me of my oath."

"My name is Drake," he said introducing himself. "This here is Morrigan, and Alistair. The hairy one at your feet is named Reth."

Sten looked them over. "I thought there was one more in your group. One wearing the robes of your Chantry."

"My name is Leliana, and it is an honor to meet one of the Qunari."

At the sound of her voice Drake turned to where she stood and was shocked by what he saw. She had discarded her Chantry robes in favor for a set of fine leathers that hugged each of her curves tightly, but still provided excellent protection for her. On her back she had a longbow and a quiver. Strangely enough though, she didn't look out of place in the armor and weapons. If anything, he thought that she looked more out of place in a Chantry robe.

What was really curios though, was that she was carrying a two handed great sword. Wordlessly she approached Sten and lifted the blade to him. "I'm sorry I couldn't find you any armor to wear, but I hope that you find this blade satisfactory."

Without a word Sten reached out at took the sword from her. He held it in both hands and pointed the blade straight out. He then started to swing the blade around. When he stopped he looked over the blade once more. "It is satisfactory. Thank you."

Leliana smiled at Sten before turning her attention to him. "Well then, shall we get on with it? Where are we heading first?"

Alistair coughed and raised his hand. "If you don't mind, I want to get to Redcliffe as soon as possible. They say that Arl Eamon is sick, and if so, then I want to check up on him."

None of the companions raised any objections so Drake nodded at his suggestion. "I hope that this human Lord of yours is as influential as they say. I have a feeling that to defeat Loghain we will need all the allies that we can get."

**Well, sorry for the slow update, but I am starting to rework this story. I am still going to include all of the stops and everything, but I am going to focus more on the interactions between the companions while at camp and their fight against the darkspawn. Anyway, hope that you all enjoyed this chapter, please review if ya want. I have a lot of free time now, and am starting to get some inspiration back, so I am hoping to be updating my stories every week to two weeks. See y'all in the next chapter.**


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